I. Background
Jingzhou is located in southern central Hubei Province and in the center  of the Jianghan Plain. Because of its location, Jingzhou is known as the “waist of Hubei”. Without the robust development of Jingzhou, Hubei Province would have a weak waist and high speed development could not be achieved. In terms of Hubei Province’s new round of development in the Yangtze River Economic Zone, if Wuhan is regarded as the “head”, Yichang is the “tail” and Jingzhou is the “waist”. If the waist is too weak, it will hold back the whole area’s development. Because of this, it is imperative to carry out the “Waist Strengthening” program to accelerate the rejuvenation of Jingzhou and ensure the scientific, high speed development of Hubei Province. It is a major mission of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, and Jingzhou Provincial Party Committee and Municipal Government for our age.

II. Development Goals
By following such guidelines as “achieving initial results in three years, realizing high speed development in 5 years and ensuring rejuvenation in 10 years”, we will endeavor to build Jingzhou into a central city in the Jianghan Plain, a major producer of machinery and chemical products and a comprehensive transport hub in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, a major economic growth pole in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, a significant producer of high-quality agricultural products in central China and even the whole country, and a famous demonstration area for inheriting, innovating and displaying Jingchu culture. In this way, Jingzhou will become the Yangtze River Economic Zone’s “steel waist” and an important column supporting the strategic rise of central China. By 2015, the GDP of Jingzhou will exceed 200 billion yuan, accounting for an extra 2% of Hubei Province’s total GDP. The annual growth rate of fixed-assets investment will remain above 30%, and the urbanization rate will rise by 6%. By 2020, Jingzhou’s GDP will account for a further 2% of Hubei Province’s total, and account for 10%.
III. Main Tasks
--- Develop New Industries
Based on the abundant resources and existing industrial strength of Jingzhou, and using the development zone as a platform, Jingzhou will work hard to develop three industries worth 100 billion yuan:agricultural products processing, machinery manufacturing, and chemical products, and three industries worth 50 billion yuan: light industry and construction materials, textiles, and high technology. The ultimate goal is to develop Jingzhou into China’s largest city for freshwater fishery processing, the largest base for processing agricultural products in Hubei Province, an important base for researching, developing and manufacturing oil machinery in China, an international competitive base for fine chemical engineering, and a major base for textile finishing and dyeing, and the manufacturing base of white household appliances in central China. At the same time, Jingzhou will support the building of a national demo base for new industrialization, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, boost strategic new emerging industries such as high-end machinery manufacturing, bio industry and alternative energies, and continue to enhance its industrial competitiveness. The city will also optimize its industrial layout. The central area will focus on processing agriculture products, the chemical industry, machinery manufacturing, and high-tech industries etc. The districts and counties south of the Yangtze River will focus on machinery manufacturing, fine chemical engineering, and light industry and construction materials etc. The districts and counties north of the Yangtze River will focus on processing of high-quality agricultural products, fine chemical engineering, and textiles and garments etc.
---Develop the Modern Service Industry
The Jingzhou section will be included in Hubei Province’s Preservation Program of Large Historic Sites in China as part of the province’s cultural development strategy. Meanwhile, the city also supports other major projects such as the development of the new eco-tourism area at Haizi Lake and enhancing the preservation of the ancient parts of Jingzhou city, in an effort to build itself into a cultural tourism destination enjoying national and even global fame. Centered on the Honghu Lake banks projects,Shishou Tian-e-zhou Oxbow National Reserve and Weishui River Scenic Area, the city will vigorously develop the natural landscape tourism characterized by water town sceneries in the plains. It will develop industries related to tourism to form a complete tourism industrial chain. Relying on its railway, highway and port transport hubs, the city will support the development of large logistics enterprises and build a distribution center for agricultural products in the middle reaches of Yangtze River, which is represented by the Two-lake Green Valley Logistical Park, and build a logistical base for production materials represented by Jingzhou Yanka Port Integrated Logistical Park. At the same time, the city will facilitate the development of commerce and trade and endeavor to construct a modern service industry reform pilot zone in Shashi District. It will strive to turn Jingzhou into a national demonstration city for e-commerce so as to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional commerce and trade. The city will encourage all financial institutions, in particular the large joint-equity commercial banks, to set up their branches or sub-branches in Jingzhou. It will also encourage various financial institutes, in particular large-scale joint-equity commercial banks, to choose Jingzhou as the site for new branches, encouraging private capital to be used in share buying to increase the investment in commercial banks, RCC reconstructing, and the formation of private financial bodies such as petty loans companies.
---Develop Modern Agriculture
Jingzhou will reform and upgrade traditional agriculture, continue to improve agricultural technical equipment, establishing a long-term mechanism securing the stable growth of grain yields and agricultural production, and identify the approach to developing modern agriculture featured by well-organized agricultural operators, industrialized operations, standardized production and ecological models. The city will also make the utmost efforts to cultivate leading companies specialized in processing agricultural products, encourage and help professional farmer cooperatives grow and expand, establish and improve a market distribution system for agricultural products, identify an effective profit linking mechanism, and improve the organization of agricultural production. Meanwhile, Jingzhou will support the development of 7 major sectors, paddy rice, cotton, oilseed rape, aquatic products, livestock, fruit and vegetables, and forestry, increasing the overall productivity of agriculture. The purpose is to build Jingzhou into Hubei Province’s most concentrated high-quality paddy rice and cotton production base, and China’s largest production base of high-quality oilseed rape containing low erucic acid and glucosinolate, aquatic products, and poultry, thus providing sufficient resources for developing a processing industry of agricultural products worth 100 billion yuan. Jingzhou will enhance R&D, introduction and test/demo of agricultural technologies, establish and improve the system of promoting agricultural technologies, strengthen the grassroots capacity in providing agricultural technical services, and accelerate agricultural mechanization. By the end of the 12th Five-year Plan, the percentage of agricultural mechanization will exceed 68%. The city will support the formation of an agricultural product quality & safety testing and detection system, enhance supervision over the quality of agricultural products, promote production model of eco-agriculture, and push forward the development of low-carbon agriculture.
---Infrastructure Construction
Jingzhou will build a regional comprehensive transport hub by giving priority to developing comprehensive transport in the city, thus providing basic assurance for the rejuvenation of Jingzhou. During the 12th Five-year Plan period, Jingzhou will accelerate railway construction by completing and putting into operation the Hankou-Yichang Railway (Jingzhou section), finalizing the electrification expansion renovation of Jingmen-Shashi Railway, building the Jingmen-Yueyang Railway and making it an integral part of transporting coal from North China to South China. The ultimate goal is to build Jingzhou into an important rail transit center in the Jianghan Plain. At the same time, Jingzhou will make full use of the advantage of the Yangtze River waterways and grasp the opportunity brought by the building of senior-grade navigation channels in rivers flowing into the Yangtze River and the Water Diversion Project from the Yangtze River to the Hanjiang River. It will focus on Jingzhou Yanka Port to build a 100-million-ton combined port in Jingzhou so as to form a large comprehensive hub-type port cluster that serves the Hunan and Hubei plains and surrounding areas. The city will also support the construction of cross-river passages. During the 12th Five-year Plan period, it will build the Second Jingzhou Yangtze River Bridge (for highway and the Jingmen-Yueyang railway), and start to build the Shishou Yangtze River Bridge, Honghu Yangtze River Bridge and Third Jingzhou Yangtze River Bridge (Erenhot-Guangzhou Expressway Bridge) in due time. At the same time, Jingzhou will build well-developed highways and a first-grade highway network to ensure all counties in it will have access to the highways and form a one-hour economic circle in Jingzhou. Meanwhile, the city will provide policies and subsidy to renovate the state and the provincial artery highways, the in-danger bridges on the national and provincial artery highways and on county/township highways, and county/township highways while building village highways. At the same time, the city will support the construction of second-grade highways, highways leading to ports and tourism highways. In applicable regions, it will build highways connecting natural villages. It will also support the construction of transport depots and logistical bases to promote the seamless connection of transport means. It will also make preliminary preparations for relocating Shashi Airport.
The city will enhance the construction of water conservancy infrastructure by obtaining national support for the renovation of the four rivers in the south of Jingzhou, the comprehensive renovation of Jingjiang Dam, and the renovation of impact caused by the Three Gorges Dam. It will regard the comprehensive renovation of waters in the four lakes and rivers zone as the key in the Hubei Province water conservancy reform and development project. It will make comprehensive renovations such as reinforcing dams, flood drainage, drought prevention, schistosomiasis control, and non-point source pollution in rural areas. At the same time, the city will give stronger support to flood-diversion zones along the Jingjiang River, the eastern section of Hong Lake flood-diversion zones, the renovation of small and medium-sized rivers, pump stations and channels, small agricultural water projects, improving drinking-water safety in rural areas, the comprehensive control of schistosomiasis and development of a new socialist countryside so as to improve water conservancy infrastructure. At the same time, Jingzhou will support the renovation of the water environment in both urban and rural areas, optimize the allocation of water resources and build an ecological water environment.
---Enhance Energy Guarantee Capacity
Jingzhou will support thermal power generation projects including Jiangling Power Plant Phase I and develop biomass energy, solar energy, wind power and geothermal resources in proper places. It will make rational use of natural gas resources and optimize the structure of energy supply. It will make more investment in Jingzhou Power Grid, improve the ability of power transmission, and upgrade the level of energy supply. In addition, the city will preserve the site and make preliminary preparations for Songzi Nuclear Power Plant.
---Integrate Urban-Rural Development
Jingzhou will be built into a central city in the Jianghan Plain. Jingzhou will make itself a pilot-test city for preferential development in the city cluster along the Yangtze River Middle Reaches. It will implement the Urban Master Plan of Jingzhou City for 2011-2020. Starting with downtown area of Jingzhou, it will accelerate development of Jingzhou New Area (incl. CBD of Jingzhou Development Zone, Shabei New District and section of Railway Station). By the end of the plan period, a 100km² urban built-up area will be developed in the central urban area with 1 million permanent residents. In the long run, a 200-km² urban built-up area will be developed in the central urban area with 2 million permanent residents. Meanwhile, it will actively develop the outskirt clusters. The city will build Haizi Lake Eco & Culture Tourism Area in the north, South River New Area in the south, Libu New Area in the west and High-tech Industrial Development Zone in the east. In addition, the city will support its establishment as a National Hygiene City, National Garden City and National Model City in Environmental Protection. It will give stronger support to municipal facilities and infrastructure, push forward development of “Digital Jingzhou” and continue enhancing its competitiveness and ability to influence neighboring areas.
Jingzhou will speed up development of county urban areas and central towns. It will work hard to develop these areas and build a continuous belt along the river to explore a new route to new-type urbanization with the characteristics of Jianghan Plain. It will focus on both size expansion and infrastructure improvement to encourage county urban areas to expand in size and improve quality so that several medium-sized cities will be built. The permanent population in urban Jianli county will exceed 300,000, that in urban Shishou, Songzi, Gong’an, Honghu and other counties will exceed 200,000 (reaching 400,000 in the long run) and that in urban Jiangling county will exceed 100,000. Jingzhou will work hard to build urban areas in its counties and sub-cities into major places that stimulate industrial development in both urban and rural areas and create job opportunities for the rural labor force. At the same time, Jingzhou will enhance the development of small towns and follow the principle of “highlight the characteristics of different places” to improve the level of public services in small towns, upgrade the residence facilities, enhance the ability to pool industries, and support and build several featured industrial towns, commercial towns and renowned tourism towns.
Jingzhou will promote urban-rural integrated development. It will continue to promote the development of a socialist new countryside represented by Xianhong pilot-test area, integrate all related projects and funds, facilitate the development of the rural road network, safe drinking water, preparation of high-yield farmland and clean-energy projects in households, renovate the rural environment on a large scale, strengthen the pollution-free treatment of household and commercial waste and sewage in rural areas, prevent and control non-point source agricultural pollution, promote industrial development in rural areas, and improve the living conditions in rural areas. It will look into a long-term mechanism for the constructing of a socialist new countryside and strive to put Jingzhou at the forefront in Hubei province for such construction. It will support the development of Jingzhou as a test point for urban-rural integration, develop an urban-rural integrated control system for space planning, guide production factors such as capital, technology, HR and management to flow rationally into rural areas, bring infrastructure and public services to rural areas, establish a well-organized and balanced system of public services, and ensure the equalization of basic public service. In addition, Jingzhou will continue to deepen the reforms of the household registration system, gradually establishing a urban-rural integrated population registration system, enhance vocational training for the migrant rural population and improve the employment service system.
---Improve Public Services System
Jingzhou will accelerate the development of education, culture, public health and sports. Jingzhou will be included into Hubei Province’s Campaign of Conducting Balanced Compulsory Education, provide more transfer payments for education projects in Jingzhou, and give stronger financial support for project construction in Jingzhou. We will support the development of pre-school education and alleviate the current problem of insufficient kindergarten places. We will also vigorously develop vocational education and give stronger financial support to secondary vocational education. Yangtze University, Jingzhou Institute of Technology, Jingzhou Vocational College of Technology and other institutions of higher learning will be included into the Province’s Pair Support Program. We will invest more in schistosomiasis control, improving the urban-rural environment and public health, enhancing the development of the medical service system and public health service system, actively look into the institutional and mechanism reform of management and operations of medical institutions, improving the level of medical services, and building Jingzhou into a regional center for public services. We will support the institutional reform of culture in Jingzhou, make utmost efforts to develop cultural undertakings, and foster and strengthen the cultural industry. We will support Longshang Channel of Jingzhou TV to become more featured and study the possibility of creating an online travel channel. In addition, we will also support the construction of a stadium, gym and auxiliary facilities in Jingzhou city centre while making the 14th Provincial Games a great success.
Jingzhou will improve the social security system. By following the principle of “extensive coverage, basic insurance, multi-level and sustainability”, we will facilitate the improvement of the social security system and gradually increase the fund-raising level of social security and level of social security provided. We will improve the pension insurance system in urban areas, ensure full coverage of the new-type pension insurance in rural areas, improve the medical insurance system, improve the life subsistence system for farmers whose lands have been acquired, and promote the reform and linkage between various insurance systems. We will provide more financial support for pension insurance subsidies, employment/re-employment transfer payments, medical insurance of urban residents, and medical insurance subsidies for retired employees from closed-down or bankrupt enterprises in Jingzhou. While allocating SOE reform funds and earnings of state-owned assets, we will give priority support to Jingzhou while promoting settlement of left-over problems from the SOE reform. At the same time, we will also give priority support to the construction of affordable housing so that all people in Jingzhou have somewhere to live.
---Innovative Mechanisms and Institutions
Open wider to the outside world and to other parts of China and support Jingzhou to build demo area for receiving transferred industries from other parts of China. We will deem the Yangtze River as the main axis, depend on transport arteries and use industrial parks as the carriers to make great efforts in investment attraction and receive industries transferred from coastal areas in east China and from other countries. The purpose is to develop Jingzhou and its innovation in this process. We will strengthen development zones, expand development zones as needed, improve the investment service system and build greater attraction for investment. At the same time, we will strengthen economic collaboration with the Wuhan urban circle, Yichang, Xiangyang and cities on the Dongting Lake Plain to establish a development layout featured by complementary industries, convenient transport and tourism chains. Meanwhile, we will also work hard to improve the efficiency in customs clearance and promote foreign trade. We will support the export of strong products and concentrate on building four export bases in chemical products, electromechanical products, light industry and textiles and agricultural products.
Be the first to make trials. We will support Jingzhou to be included in the national program of reforming and adjusting old industrial bases, establish a national-level pilot-test zone for rural reform, and support Songzi city to be included in the third batch of resource-exhausted cities in China. In addition, we will support and push forward reforms in all fields and encourage Jingzhou to make bold explorations in social and economic fields, find solutions to problems with institutions and mechanisms, make innovations in development models and keep enhancing the momentum and dynamic of development.
Improve independent innovation ability. We will make full use of Jingzhou’s strengths in science and education, and improve the technical innovation system with enterprises as the major players and the market as the orientation, which will combine enterprises, research institutes, education institutions and users. Focusing on innovative pilot-test enterprises, we will provide continuous financial support to a number of key enterprises and projects. We will support high-tech enterprises, colleges, universities, and research institutes to co-build R&D centers and bases of enterprises, education institutions and research institutes. At the same time, we will support the “Technology SMEs Growth Roadmap” program and give stronger support to tech enterprises. Meanwhile, we will give stronger support to training and cultivating innovative HR, make greater efforts to introduce overseas high-level talents which are in short supply and researchers from research institutes and higher education institutes, and support Jingzhou to establish provincial-level independent innovation and post-doctoral innovation posts so as to create a sound environment that attracts and develops talents.
Focus on shifting the government’s role. We will implement the role of the government in providing public services, enhance the government’s capacity in coordinating and organizing and conduct strict market supervision. At the same time, we will carry out a responsibility system for legitimate administration, promote transparent government affairs, ensure strict and fair law enforcement and increase the credibility of the government. We will deepen the reforms of the administrative approval system, simplify the approval formalities, establish and improve the e-governance network, engage in e-supervision, improve the efficiency of administration and optimize environment for development. Meanwhile, we will make efforts to shift the working style of government officials, hold those incompetent or in the wrong accountable, and build a solid, honest, efficient and high-performance team of officials.

IV. Three Measures
---Foster Large-Scale Industries
The “Waist strengthening project” centers on boosting industries. Jingzhou will work hard to develop three industries worth 100 billion yuan; agricultural products processing, machinery manufacturing and chemical products, and three industries worth 50 billion yuan; light industry and construction materials, textiles and high tech.
The basis is to build industrial parks as the platform, the measures are to attract investment and businesses, the focus is to boost leading industries, the hope is to develop emerging industries and the key point is to optimize the investment environment.
---Develop an Extensive Transport Network
Railway: Form a national-level artery railway network with Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu High-speed Railway as the horizontal axis and Jingmen-Yueyang Railway and Jiaozuo-Liuzhou Railway as the vertical axis;
Waterways: Pillared on Yanka Port region in Jingzhou, we will build Songzi Cheyang River and Jingzhou Libu to develop a 100-million-ton combined port in Jingzhou.
Highways: We will build the Second and Third Jingzhou Yangtze River Bridges, Shishou Yangtze River Bridge, Honghu Yangtze River Bridge, Jiayu Yangtze River Bridge, South River Highway, Honghu-Jianli Highway, North River Highway, Jianjiang-Shishou Highway and Shashi-Gong’an Highway to create a one-hour economic circle.
Aviation: We will push forward the relocation of Shashi Airport.
- Build Large Cities
By focusing on the development of central urban areas, we will enhance the preservation and development of the ancient Jingzhou city and accelerate the development of Shabei New District and Jingbei New District.
We will expand urban areas. We will build Haizi Lake Eco & Culture Tourism Area to the north of Changhu Lake, build Libu New Area in the west, and build a high-tech industrial development zone linked to Jiangling Petro-Chemical Port in the east.
We will expand the size and improve the quality of urban areas in counties and sub-cities in Jingzhou to build a city cluster along the Yangtze River.
We will focus on the development ancient Jingzhou city, the Hong Lake banks, Shishou Tian-e-zhou and other core tourism areas.
We will accelerate the development of the Jingzhou section in the Preservation Program of Large Historic Sites in China, and facilitate the development of Jinan City National Archeological Park as the capital of the Chu Kingdom, the Xiongjia Tomb Relics Museum, China Chu Culture Museum, Longshang Eco & Culture Industrial Park and other projects.