Beijing Present

Like other parts of the country, Beijing has embarked on a comprehensive reform and open policy since the late '70s, pushing economic development vigorously and laying a foundation for further growth in the '90s, as may be seen from the following facts and figures:

1. The level of modernization has remarkably improved for both urban and rural areas. During the decade from 1980 to 1991, Beijing invested 16.44 billion yuan in the construction of infrastructure, resulting in an improvement of water supply, transportation, communications, cooking gas supply, central heating, afforestation, environmental protection, etc.
   
   During this period, a total floor space of 97.32 million square meters was built, of which 57.20 million were for living quarters. Among projects projects completed were the Asian Games Village, 33 gymnasiums and stadiums - either newly built or renovated. Four satellite towns have sprung up, and a large number of public buildings were completed for education, science and technology, cultural activities, medical care and social welfare.

2. Beijing has made vigorous progress in education, science technology and culture. During the past decade, it brought up a professional personnel of 650,000 at intermediate and advanced levels and made a great number of achievements in science and technology. The country's first experimental zone for new technological and industrial development was established in Beijing. Now the city boasts 61,000 hospital beds.

3. The people's livelihood has improved remarkable in both urban and rural areas. In 1991, the actual per caita income of urban households increased 69.3% over that of 1980, while the actual per capita net income of peasant households was three times that of 1980. The per capita living space reached 8.0 square meters in the urban area and 21.9 square meters for the peasants.

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