Wuhai

Wuhai (zh-cp|c=乌海|p=Wūhǎi; _mn. .

Population

Wuhai has an area of 1,754 km² and, as of 2000, 427,553 inhabitants (243.76 inhabitants/km²).

Demographics

Administrative Subdivisions

Wuhai city is divided into three districts:

*Haibowan District (海勃湾区), 529 km², 200,000 inhabitants;
*Hainan District district (海南区), 1,005 km², 100,000 inhabitants;
*Uda District district (乌达区), 220 km², 130,000 inhabitants.

Economy

The city's economy is heavily based on coal mining, electric power generation, metal-working and chemical industries, but also on fruit (grapes, winemaking) and dairy farming. Wuhai is a stop on the Baotou-Lanzhou rail line, and an airport was opened in 2003.

Rock art in six places at the foot of the Zhouzhi Shan (Mount Zhouzhi) has been dated back to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, the Warring States Period, and the Han Dynasty.

Transportation

The fastest way to Wuhai from major cities of China is best through Beijing. There are 2 Hainan Airlines flights arriving and departing Wuhai daily via Hohhot and Xi'an. Flights take approximately 2 to 3 hours. Tickets priced (correct for May 2008) between 600 to 1200 RMB.

Wuhai lies on a major Yellow River train route, connecting a large number of cities in Inner Mongolia, central and southern China. Travel time from Beijing by train is approximately 20 hours.

Beijing PanAm International Aviation Academy (BPIAA)

Although Wuhai in general is lacking large higher educational institutions, in the early 2007 a major foreign investment was injected into the development of a local flight training base for Chinese airline cadets located in Wuhai Regional Airport (ZBUH). The flight base has 8 to 14 Diamond DA40 light training aircraft providing flight lessons for over 130 students designated to train at this base. Convenient airport location close to the city, low levels of pollution and relatively fair weather/visibility factors allow flight training approximately 300 days per year (subject to military restrictions). The arrival of BPIAA has also laid a foundation for the first ever foreign community in Wuhai, comprised mostly of foreign Flight Instructors from various ICAO countries working on annual contracts for BPIAA.

Dining, Entertainment and Night Life

"Wuhai is almost like Hawaii - there is a beautiful beach, just no water..."

Wuhai dining scene consists of numerous small bars and restaurants, catering for a range of Chinese, Mongolian and western cuisines. Food is priced reasonably and approximately 30-50% cheaper then major cities in China. Popular dining choices are: Hot Pot (Hua Gua) serving a type of Chinese meat and vegetable fondue in a traditional "uni-pot" way or a modern "personal pot" styles; Mongolian BBQ serving a variety of meats (mostly beef, lamb and chicken) roasted on open fire and seasoned with local spices; Western restaurants, serving a variety of foods catering for the European and American tastes; traditional Chinese Han restaurants are also widely available.

There is a Mongolian style theme park built in the north-western part of the city. It offers authentic Mongolian-style dining in a traditional Yurta restaurant, camel rides and other activities. Desert Fun park is also located further north, offering fun dune cart rides, quad biking, dune jeep riding, etc.

A fair number and variety of local bars and clubs are located around the city. Most famous are "100% Night Club" offering cheap beer, whiskey, life entertainment and dance music (no cover charge); "Huang Kang" offering local beers and life rock music daily (band name "Fu Sha" - no cover charge); "V8 Bar" offering popular dance music (no cover charge); "Music Kitchen" offering a mix of professional and amateur life music performances (no cover charge). A large number of KTV (Karaoke) style bars are widely available around the city and enjoy a great popularity among locals.

Accommodation

A number of hotels are located centrally in the City. Among them: "Blue Dream Hotel" (private, 4 stars), Shi Ji Yuan Hotel (private, 4 stars), Wuhai Hotel (government-owned, 3 stars)

Housing Project Scandal

Wuhai has been the center of public outrage when it was revealed that money originally assigned to build low income housing project was used to build extravagant office buildings instead [http://jjckb.xinhuanet.com/yw/2008-03/21/content_90030.htm] .

According to the 2006 official statistics by the local government, 45,344 households totaling 146,306 people, or over 30% of total population in the urban area, lived in shacks in the slums. These low income families had to deal with problems including the lacks of drainage, clean water supply and poor hygiene conditions. As a result, a housing project was planned to rebuild the area, starting in February, 2006. The plan called for 15% completion by the end of 2007, 40% completion respectively in 2008, and 2009, and the remaining by the end of 2010. In reality, however, the plan failed to materialize because not a single penny was provided. Subsequent investigation by auditing authorities and media investigation revealed that the CYN 150 million funds that were supposed used as the initial funding was used to build luxury office buildings instead.

The new governmental office building, dubbed as the "Wuhai Urban Administrative Center Building", was located in the Binhe (滨河) New District. The building totaled 17 stories above the ground, with an addition one below the ground. In addition, there was also another 5-story building connected to this main building. The total area is around 61,168 square meters, with construction begun in March, 2006, and the building complex is expected to be fully operational before the end of 2008. The contractor admitted that the office building complex is as luxurious as a four-star hotel. Audits and investigation revealed that the building complex cost CYN 150 million, and the initial fund for the housing project to rebuild the slums populated by the low income families was used, causing the housing project to be stalled in idle.

When the scandal was exposed by numerous Chinese media such as Economic Reference [http://jjckb.xinhuanet.com 经济参考报] , it greatly angered the public. Further public outrage resulted in the fact that the current office building was already too extravagant: it occupies an area totaled 100,000 square meters, with over 20,000 square meters office space, and additionally, the current office building was just completed in October, 2001. Auditing and investigation also revealed that many cadres opposed the construction of the luxury office building complex and pointed out that according to the law, such project must be evaluated and approved by higher authorities, which it was highly unlikely because it would be nothing more than a waste for a show-piece project, and there was no money to fund such projects.

However, the opposition was brushed aside and those cadres who voice their concern were scolded by the local party bosses, who harshly criticized those opposed as "lacking the open mind, not following the great rapid development of Wuhai". As a result, the local government bypassed the law by deciding to carry out the construction anyway, and the CYN 150 million funds that were supposed used as the initial funding in the housing project was used to build luxury office building complex instead 内蒙古乌海市：无钱搞棚改，有钱建豪衙 [http://jjckb.xinhuanet.com/yw/2008-03/21/content_90030.htm No money for the housing improvement project, but there is money to build extravagant offices] (in Chinese) March 21, 2008] . Not surprisingly, when media requested interviews with local high ranking officials regarding the matter, none came forward.

References

External links

* [http://english.nmgnews.com.cn/eng/article/20040903/269_1.html nmgnews.com]
* [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-12/14/content_290174.htm Chinadaily]