HABI¹A¹ IN¹¸. Vol. 23, No. 2, pp.

217—229, 1999
 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
0197—3975/99 $ — see front matter
PII: S0197-3975(98)00046-0

China’s Coastal Cities: Development,

Planning and Challenges
SUN SHENG HAN , ZHONGXIONG YAN

National ºniversity of Singapore, Singapore

Planning Bureau, Ministry of Construction, Baiwanzhuang, Beijing,
China 100037

ABSTRACT

Globalization of the world economy has assigned an important role to coastal cities to play
in national development. In China, since the reform and openness policy was introduced in
1978, coastal cities have been called to act as ‘‘engines’’ in economic growth. By using the
Chinese experiences, this paper examines the development of coastal cities in national
economic change, and discusses the issues and challenges in coastal city planning. The
Chinese experiences show that the development of coastal cities is dependent upon national
policies of making use of the sea in connecting China to the global economy. Once national
development strategy is determined, the economic and spatial structure of coastal cities can
be planned accordingly. The use of market mechanisms to China’s land and housing
markets provides an effective means for management of the coastal cities. Appropriate
balances between government control and market determination in migration, between
equity and efficiency in regional development, between economic growth and sustainability
in resource use, are the main challenges ahead of Chinese planners in coastal city de-
velopment.  1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: globalization; coastal city; city planning; China

INTRODUCTION

Coastal cities are differentiated from non-coastal cities by not only their locations,
which provide easy access to sea-oriented resources, but also their pivot roles in
socioeconomic and political interactions among nations. Over the last two centu-
ries colonialisation spurred the development of coastal cities, which in turn drove
urbanization in all continents. In North America, for example, the trading posts
which were established during the late 18th century laid the foundation for
urbanization in Canada and the United States (McCann and Smith, 1991; John-
ston, 1982). In Asia, explorations along sailing routes that link with Europe bred
the growth of cities along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, the Maraca Strait, the
South China Sea, and the Yellow Sea (Brunn and Williams, 1993). Many coastal
cities with good harbors have grown into world metropolises, such as Singapore,

Correspondence to: Dr. S. S. Han, School of Building and Real Estate, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent
Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260, Singapore. Tel.: 65 874 6254; fax: 65 773 3878.

217
218 S. S. Han and Z. Yan

Bangkok, Shanghai, Manila and Osaka. In the concurrent economic globalization,

coastal cities play important roles and receive enormous attention from national
and local governments for properly planning and managing their development.
This paper examines the development strategies of coastal cities in national
economic changes, and discusses the issues and challenges in coastal city planning.
By using China as an example, we demonstrate that: (1) The development of coastal
cities is a concomitant of global economic integration. The growth or decline
of coastal cities is an accurate mirror of national economic well-being. (2)
Major planning issues in coastal cities root in the particular development context
of societies. Important aspects include development goals in an international
and regional setting, economic and spatial adjustment in economic transition,
and environmental concerns toward sustainable development. (3) Future chal-
lenges lay on three issues, i.e., government control vs. free market determination in
migration, equity vs. efficiency in regional development, and economic growth vs.
sustainability in resource use. We draw examples and give evidence to support our
arguments from our experiences in planning and research projects in China’s
coastal cities.

COASTAL CITIES IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

In China’s 5000 years civilization, there were three main stages in the utilization of
her coastal areas: (1) self-motivated, limited use; (2) external force driven, active use;
and (3) self-motivated, active use. The first stage of self-motivated limited use
occurred before the Opium War in 1840, during which time China’s economy had
an inland focus. In the peak of China’s feudal society, such as in the Tang Dynasty,
the government had the initiative to establish relationships with the outside world
by sending officials for overseas missions. The exploration of Zheng He westward in
the Pacific Ocean was an example. But the extent and scale of explorations through
the sea was very limited, its influence on the formation and development of coastal
settlements was insignificant (Tongji da xue, 1982).
The large-scale development of China’s coastal cities occurred after the Indus-
trial Revolution. The latter provided leading industrial nations with better arms
and equipment to force the Qing Government (1644—1911) to implement an open-
door policy. During the mid 19th century, numerous concession areas were for-
mulated along the coast under various treaties and agreements, which generated
rapid growth in many port cities, such as Dalian, Tianjin, Shanghai and Guang-
zhou. In Shanghai, for example, its population reached 1,000,000 people within four
decades after the Opium War (Johnson, 1995). Coastal cities accommodated major
political and financial headquarters, which served for colonial masters as bases
towards market expansion and resource exploration. Within the concession areas,
Chinese authorities had no jurisdiction on any social, political and economic
affairs. Rather, in the period 1840—1949, China’s coastal cities developed as a result
of external influence, rather than government initiatives.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, coastal cities have become
an integrated part in China’s national development strategies. Special policies and
measures were designed by the government in order to control and guide the
development of coastal cities (Dang dai zhong guo, 1990). Due to the changing
circumstances in international politics, the development and planning of China’s
coastal cities represented the characteristics of the command economy before 1978,
and the emerging market economy after 1978.
During the 1950s, the development emphases in China’s coastal cities were to
formulate an integrated administrative system (by, for example, eliminating the
concession areas), to adjust the economic structure, to realize full employment, and
to improve housing conditions for workers (Dang dai zhong guo, 1990). Prior to
 China+s Coastal Cities 219

Table 1. Number of coastal cities, 1949—1995

1949 1978 1995

Liaoning 4 4 7
Hebei 1 1 1
Jiangsu 2 2 2
Zhejiang 2 2 4
Fujian 3 3 6
Shandong 3 3 8
Guangdong 5 7 11
Guangxi 0 1 2
Hainan 1 1 2
Total 21 24 43

Note: Compiled by the authors, based on data from Min zheng bu

(1996) and Zhong guo tong ji xin xi zi xun zhong xin (1990). The
number of coastal cities in this table includes coastal cities with
port only. Tianjin and Shanghai are not in the table as they are not
provinces.

1978, development of China’s coastal cities was discouraged. There were two
reasons. First, China had limited economic interaction with the outside. During the
Cold War Era, China’s foreign trade was confined within the Soviet socialist bloc.
In addition, there was great tension between the Chinese Communists and the
Nationalists, especially along the Taiwan Strait. Thus, the government allocated
industries to inland provinces, while cities, including those on the eastern coast,
were given little resources for development. After the break down between China
and the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, China had maintained a close-door policy
and was isolated from the world economy. In almost 20 years following, decentral-
ization policies on industries and population led to dispersed investment in moun-
tainous provinces, such as Sichuan and Guizhou, rather than in coastal cities. As
a result, there was little development in coastal cities. From 1949 to 1978, there was
almost no change in the number of coastal cities (Table 1). This was in sharp
contrast with the situation in the period after 1978, when the number of coastal
cities increased from 24 to 43 between 1978 and 1995.
Second, China’s economy was guided by a heavy-industry-led development
policy. Heavy industries received priorities in resource allocation at the expense of
light industries and commercial and financial sectors. The heavy-industry-led
policy was especially discouraging to the growth of coastal cities, as trade, finance
and entertainment were major economic sectors of the latter. Table 2 shows the
changes of housing conditions and industrial output values between 1949 and 1978,
in selected coastal cities. The average living space per person changed little, while
the index of industrial output value increased by over 20 times.

Table 2. Average living space per person (ALSPP) and index of industrial
output value (IOIOV), 1949—1978, in selected coastal cities

ALSPP IOIOV

1949 1978 1949 1978

Shanghai 3.8 4.5 51.5 1203.6

Tianjin 3.8 3.3 37.1 913.6
Guangzhou 4.5 3.0 57.8 1850.6
Qingdao 3.3 3.9 37.6 1031.3
Dandong 3.9 2.8 705.2
Beihai 5.3 5.1 2232

Note: ALSPP is measured by square meters. IOIOV is measured by

an index of 100 in the year 1952.
Source: Zhong guo tong ji xin xi zi xun zhong xin (1990, pp. 232, 233,
324, 325).
220 S. S. Han and Z. Yan

Fig. 1. The use of coastal lines in Zhanjiang and Qinhuangdao.

A reflection in the land use structure of China’s coastal cities was that there was
heavy use of the coast for industries rather than for recreation, commerce or
housing. An example is Zhanjiang City, one of the cities that formulated develop-
ment plans in the 1950s. In the plan, a large proportion of its coast was targeted for
port and industrial use, rather than for residential, recreational, or tourism develop-
ment (Fig. 1a). Another example is Qinhuangdao City. Though it was planned in
the early 1980s, when economic reform already began, Qinhuangdao City was still
a reflection of the planning skills and ideology of the planned economy. The plan
provided resolutions to quite a few complex problems in land use and transporta-
tion, and facilitated its development toward the largest energy port in China, with
a capacity of handling 100 million tons of coal for export. But in the utilization of its
coastline, ports are apparently dominating (Fig. 1b).
Since 1978, China has introduced the reform and openness policy, with a shift of
locational emphasis of development from inland regions to the coastal region. It
was hoped that such a shift in economic emphasis would connect China’s economy
with the global market, through numerous coastal cities. During the late 1970s, the
government established four Special Economic Zones (i.e. Shenzhen, Shantou,
Zhuhai and Xiamen) along the coast of Guangdong and Fujian (Han and Wong,
1994). In the early 1980s, 14 coastal cities were granted the status of Open Coastal
 China+s Coastal Cities 221

Fig. 2. Location of the four special economic zones (SEZs) and the 14 open coastal cities (OCCs).

Cities (Fig. 2). The special policies that were granted to these special cities, including
less control from the central government, have brought rapid development along
the coast (Yeung and Hu, 1992).
Urban planning was given attention by governments of coastal cities in order to
accomplish strategic goals via coordinated development. The open economic
function becomes the key in formulating development plans. High development
standards were referenced in setting up the planning targets. One example is the
strategic plan of Shenzhen, which was formulated in the early 1980s. This plan
began with an ambitious decision to transform a small boarder town into a mod-
ern, world-class, coastal metropolis. In a short span of 20 years, Shenzhen has
become a leading city in economic growth and trade in South China.
Other coastal cities have also achieved great development after 1978. Especially
worth mentioning is the major revision of the Development Plan of Shanghai.
Shanghai served as the economic and financial center of the Far East during the
colonial period. Though an important industrial base and economic center in
China, Shanghai was only used as a cash cow to support central government
finance and the development of inland provinces. Economic reform brought in new
threats and opportunities to Shanghai. In 1990, Shanghai was designated the
largest special economic zone in China, by the central government (Yao, 1996). The
Master Plan of Shanghai was revised accordingly to reflect its new role. According
to the revised plan, Shanghai is to utilize its locational advantage (i.e. on the Pacific
Ocean), and to restore its historical role in the global economy. Thus, a framework
is set up for Shanghai to be transformed into an international financial, economic,
and trade center.
The transformation of Shanghai from an isolated economy into an open econ-
omy has reshaped its spatial structure. Past development strategy of containing the
central city and expanding the suburban towns was replaced by a new one, which
222 S. S. Han and Z. Yan

concentrates on the development of Pudong New District. Lujiazui area of Pudong,

and the Waitan area in the west of the Huangpu River, form the new central
Shanghai. A large number of buildings have already been constructed in the
Pudong New District. In addition, the new international airport, and large-scale
infrastructure projects (e.g., highways) have been constructed according to its
development plan. The development and planning of Shanghai is a typical reflec-
tion of the ambitious goals in China’s development.

MAJOR PLANNING ISSUES

China’s reform and open policy has greatly altered the focus of urban planning. The
static, blue-print oriented planning, which was introduced by Soviet planners in the
1950s, was replaced by a dynamic and process-oriented undertaking. This was
particularly true in coastal cities, where the first experiments took place to let
economic planning give way to market forces in guiding economic growth. Major
planning issues in China’s coastal cities can be summarized as follows:
First, planners have to extend the coverage of conventional city planning to
include a more liberalized regional dynamic in order to define the goal of develop-
ment for a coastal city. A well-defined development goal has to fit into national
strategy of utilizing coastal cities to boost economic linkages with other countries,
and to stimulate the development of the inland regions. The dragon-head role of
Shanghai, as defined in its revised plan, for example, reflects on the national policy
of using Shanghai as an engine for the development of the Yangtzi River economic
belt. However, it is beyond the capability of the central government to define
development goals for each coastal city. For the majority, the practice is for local
planners to study the city in a regional context and to submit the result of such
a study to the appropriate government for approval.
A regional dimension is added to coastal city planning in two ways. The first is to
make regional planning a legitimate part of city planning. This is particularly true
in terms of urban system planning. In the Urban Planning Act endorsed by the
State Council in 1989 (Ministry of Construction, 1989), governments at various
levels are requested to have a plan for the development of cities and towns within
their areas of jurisdiction. As such, coastal city planning often starts with a plan for
cities and towns, because such a plan is not yet available in most cases. Examples of
urban system planning include the ‘‘Master Plan of Cities and Towns in Shanghai
Economic Region’’, ‘‘Urban Development Strategies around the Bohai Sea’’, and
‘‘Plan of the Urban System in the Pearl River Delta’’. These documents have served
as integrated policy guidelines to the individual cities in formulating their develop-
ment strategies and layout plans. They have also played an important role in
coordinating regional infrastructure programs.
Another means used by Chinese planners to add a regional dimension is to forge
a strong linkage between coastal cities and their hinterlands by building a sound
road network. Successful planning and development examples have become avail-
able already. As the most important coastal city in Northern China, Dalian has
built a highway network, i.e., the Shen(yang)-Da(lian) highway, as a key project for
Dalian’s interest. Our contact with planners in Dalian suggests that the highway
network has improved the port businesses in Dalian. Similar developments were
observed in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. Wenzhou was traditionally handicapped
by the absence of a regional transportation network. With the recent construction
of railways that connect it with the major national lines, and the emerging highway
network, Wenzhou achieved growth at an enormous rate.
Second, planners have to find the ways to diversify economies within and among
coastal cities. Under the planned economy, Chinese cities were requested to
transform from ‘‘consumers’’ to ‘‘producers’’ (Pannell and Ma, 1983). As a result,
 China+s Coastal Cities 223

China’s coast was mainly used to build ports, while tourist and recreational usage
was ignored. In Qinhuangdao, for example, almost all the coast lines were used for
ports and piers. Now, coastal cities emphasize the varieties in land use planning by
zoning coastline areas suitable for tourism as recreational areas or parks, while
those with good harbor conditions are zoned for ports and piers. Some cities with
beautiful beaches, such as Sanya City, Hainan Province, and Xincheng City,
Liaoning Province, are planned to be tourism cities, rather than industrial or port
cities.
In diversifying the economies of coastal cities, special attention has to be given to
port development, as the latter is a determinant for the spatial configuration of
coastal cities. The formation of the multi-centered urban structure in Ningbo,
Zhejiang Province, is an example showing the impact of deep-water ports. The
major ports in Ningbo City were traditionally located inside the Yongjiang River.
According to its latest plan, Beilun District is designated for the construction of
a new deep-water port with a capacity of 200,000 t. At the same time, an industrial
port in Zhenhai District, an area north of the old town of Ningbo, was zoned and
constructed (Fig. 3). Ports in Beilun and Zhenhai stretched the once single-centered
city of Ningbo into a pattern with three urban districts (i.e., the old city area, Beilun
District and Zhenhai District).
Third, planners have to readjust land use structure to improve the quality of
urban life, rather than merely emphasizing quantity of urbanization. Under the
command economy, the size of a city represented the rank of officials, while the
pace of urbanization was sometimes used as an indicator for economic growth. As
such, city planning was used occasionally as a tool to display the ambitions of
development. Today, urban planning is no longer used as a means to pursue a large
population size or built-up area, or a large number of industries. Rather, optimiza-
tion of industrial structure and land use are given priorities in plan making.
An effective means must be available to restructure urban land use. Traditional
administrative measures in urban management have become less useful in the
newly emerged market environment. Coastal cities were thus among the first group
that experimented with market mechanisms in regulating urban growth. Based on
the policies of urban land use reform and housing commercialization, the govern-
ment introduced a concept known as the two-layer urban land market. The first
layer refers to the transition of non-urban land into urban use, which is controlled
by the government. The second layer refers to the transaction of urban land, which
is regulated by the market. At the same time, housing commercialization stimulated

Fig. 3. Spatial layout of Ningbo city.

224 S. S. Han and Z. Yan

the development of the real estate sector (Han, 1998). Thus, proper planning has
become more demanding in order to maintain the property market in good order.
There are many successful examples in coastal cities. For example, the governments
of Guangzhou and Wenzhou have facilitated the implementation of their respective
development plans by controlling the amount, location and timing of land available
to the first layer market.
Since the introduction of market mechanisms to urban management, urban land
parcels in different locations have shown different values. This value differentiation
has been used as a means to reshape the land use structure. Traditional factories
that lack technology content and cause environmental pollution can now be
relocated to suburban areas. High land value of the old site in central city can
provide the factory with enough funds for purchasing a new land parcel that is
suitable for its expansion, and at the same time, for having leftover funds to
improve its capital flow. The removal of factories from the central city has also
provided opportunities for urban redevelopment. For the city government, the land
and housing markets helped to generate income that can be further utilized for
urban development.
Finally, considerable attention must be given to the protection of ecology and
environment of the ocean. It is realized that an acceptable ecological environment
of the ocean is a precondition for the existence and development of coastal cities.
Due to the lack of environmental protection in the past, large amounts of sewage
water and solid waste were discharged directly or indirectly into the ocean, which
caused severe pollution. Various regulations for pollution control have been intro-
duced recently. Coastal cities have put it in the agenda of government actions to
construct facilities for sewage water processing, and made it compulsory to include
these facilities in their development plans. According to the policies, major con-
struction projects cannot start until a satisfactory environmental impact analysis is
completed. For those projects that conform to environmental standards, and which
are issued with a construction permit, the ‘‘rule of three parallels’’ will be observed.
This rule requires a construction project to be accompanied by the design, con-
struction and operation of necessary pollution-control facilities in its respective
phases. Thus, the design of pollution control facilities will be done in conjunction
with the design of the construction project, as are the construction and the
operation phases of the project and the facilities. In 1996, the government endorsed
a further regulation to tax the discharge of wastewater. All businesses that
discharge wastewater have to pay a fee that is determined proportionally by the
amount of water intake. This new rule has provided a reliable source for the
construction of wastewater-processing facilities that were lagging behind because of
the lack of funds. With the above regulations, coastal cities are in a better position
to put the pollution problem under control.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

China’s reform and openness policy in the past 20 years generated a favorable
environment for the development of coastal provinces (Fig. 2). By 1997, coastal
provinces registered 63.2% of the total value of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of
the nation, while capital investment in the coastal provinces accounted 58.3% of
the national total (Table 3). The strong GDP and capital investment were in sharp
contrast to its land area, which accounts for 13.9% of the total land, and to its
population, which accounts for 45.7%. Further, the emerging market was more
developed and active along the coast. According to the value of investment in real
estate, the coastal provinces attracted 245.1 billion RMB yuan (equivalent to $30
billion US), accounting for 78.9% of the total investment in China’s real estate. As
such, the coastal provinces developed themselves into a magnetic belt which further
 China+s Coastal Cities 225

Table 3. Selected characteristics of coastal provinces as at the end of 1997

Land Area Population GDP Capital Real estate

1000 sq mi 10,000 100 mil investment investment
yuan 100 mil yuan 100 mil yuan

Coastal Prov. 506.6 56517 47260 10962.5 2451.4

All China 3613 123626 74772.4 18791.3 3106.4
% of Coast P
out of Country 13.9 45.7 63.2 58.3 78.9

Note: Data of land area is gathered and calculated from MapInfo Professional 4.1 workspace tutorial data.
Others are obtained and calculated according to Guo jia tong ji ju (1998).

attract migration and capital flow. In the environment of economic reform and
transition, this magnetic effect gives rise considerable challenges to Chinese plan-
ners in population forecasting and planning, regional equity of development, and
sustainable use of resources in the coastal provinces.
Today, challenges that planners face in population forecasting and planning are
much greater than under the command economy. Before 1978, natural increase of
population was governed by rules of family planning, while migration was regu-
lated by state job allocation. It was relatively easy to calculate population changes
as caused by births and deaths, immigration and emigration. With the help of the
household registration system and the rationing system for commodity supply,
which tied individuals to a particular place (e.g., place of birth), free migration was
eliminated. In the early 1980s, however, rationing coupons were abandoned, while
the number of jobs that were not controlled by the state increased in cities. In this
context, coastal provinces showed their magnetic effect in attracting migrants.
Estimates show that at the present, there are about 10 million inland peasant
workers in coastal cities. In large cities such as Guangzhou and Shanghai,
‘‘floating population’’ accounted for 20 and 40% of the local populations respec-
tively (Beijing shi ren min zheng fu yan ju shi she hui chu, 1991). During the period
of Chinese New Year festival, many of the ‘‘floating population’’ travel back to their
hometowns for celebrations, and form an enormous ‘‘tide of peasant workers’’.
The presence of peasant workers has brought about positive impacts on the
development of coastal cities. Migrant laborers filled the employment gap by taking
dirty and heavy manual jobs which urban residents are reluctant to take. Their
presence also generated a free labor market which supported the economic
transition from planned economy to market oriented economy. But it is also
evident that the magnitude of immigration has generated negative influences, such
as overburden of urban infrastructure and public utilities, high rate of crime, and
failure in family planning. Urban unemployment resulting from recent state enter-
prise reform makes more urgent the question of whether migrant laborers are
needed at all. Therefore, it is critical to study and guide the population growth in
coastal cities to build and maintain a healthy development environment.
Another challenge ahead of Chinese planners is the issue about regional equity
and economic growth. Over the 30 years from 1949 to 1978, China’s development
was based on the principle of equity. Government policies attempted to eliminate
disparities in income and growth between population groups/classes, and among
regions. After 1978, overemphasis on equity was accused for leading to an egalitar-
ian system which was a hindrance against economic development. Thus, the central
government adopted a policy to allow some people and certain regions to get rich
ahead of others. While this policy generated enormous growth by giving room to
individuals for utilizing their initiatives, the increasing disparities between popula-
tion groups and regions might threaten social stability. For the development of
coastal cities, the question is how far the coastal cities can proceed ahead of inland
regions in economic growth. Indeed, disparity is nothing abnormal in development.
226 S. S. Han and Z. Yan

Coastal cities would not serve as a pulling force to the development of inland
regions without disparity. On the other hand, it should be stressed that great
disparity will threaten social stability. Thus, it is desirable for coastal cities to
formulate strategies that forge their active participation in supporting the develop-
ment of inland regions. These strategies may include the development of collabora-
tion systems that integrate inland resources with the rich capital and technology in
coastal cities, and/or the relocation of selected industries to inland regions. Any
efforts to slow down the pace of development of coastal cities in an attempt to
reduce regional disparities may not be wise. A strong and growing economy along
the coast will generate a powerful base to pull up the inland economy. Coastal cities
have to be firm in their development and planning, that their development goals
have to match the national strength, and to promote the integration of China’s
economy with the world economy in the 21st century.
A third challenge is on sustainable resource use within the coastal region. Since
1978, the coastal region has mushroomed with rural enterprises. The latter pro-
vided opportunities for dispersion of urban industries, and for absorption of
agricultural surplus labor. Its development changed the economic structure in rural
areas by generating a high proportion of activity in the industrial sector. Some
planners have interpreted rural industrialization as a peculiar Chinese approach
toward urbanization (Ye et al., 1988). The dense distribution of cities and towns
transformed the southern part of Jiangsu Province and the Pearl River Delta into
highly urbanized regions. Rural industrialization also brought in new problems,
such as repetitive investment and construction, waste of arable land, and environ-
mental pollution, which need to be addressed in the development and planning of
coastal cities. The challenge is how much can economic growth be sacrificed in
exchange for stricter environmental control and more effective land use. At the
present, state enterprises are facing great difficulties and need to reform their
ownership structure via privatization and establishment of a shareholder system.
Rural enterprises, then, become the main contributors to economic growth. Appar-
ently, any attempts to reduce pollution and waste of resources use may increase the
operational cost to rural enterprises, which in turn will slow down economic
growth. Nevertheless, sustainable resource use has to be achieved for long-term
benefit. It is left for planners to find out a resolution to achieve a long-term goal of
sustainability, and a short-term goal for rapid economic growth.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The development of China’s coastal cities went through three stages, from inactive
use to active use, reflecting China’s position in the world economic system. Interest-
ingly, the Chinese society witnessed rapid progress in the economy and moderniz-
ation when China’s coastal cities were actively used, while backwardness and slow
economic growth was present when coastal cities stagnated. At present, coastal
cities are perceived as the main connectors to link China with the global market,
and a favorable policy environment is designated in national strategies for their
development. In this context, it becomes a main task for planners to define the goals
of coastal city development, and to plan the economic and spatial configurations of
coastal cities. In addition, long term environmental concerns in the light of
sustainable resource use become an element and issue in coastal city planning.
China’s economic transition from the planned economy to a market oriented
economy brought about changes in migration control, regional disparities, and
rural—urban industrial structure, which further posed challenges to planners.
A number of concluding remarks can be drawn from this study. First, coastal
cities form an indispensable part of national development. A forward looking,
active strategy for innovative development of coastal cities contributes to the
 China+s Coastal Cities 227

modernization and economic growth of the country. Second, planners have to start
with a global and regional perspective in order to determine the goal of develop-
ment for a coastal city. In the consequent planning process, this goal will be the
guidance for economic diversification and spatial readjustment. The relationships
between port and other economic activities, in terms of both proportion of sectoral
strength and land use, should be the focus of development coordination and
planning. Third, planners have to prepare for challenges resulting from coastal city
development. Coastal cities may perform as magnets in attracting population and
investment, which in turn harm their own development by overloading urban
services and causing social instability. It is planners’ task to study and foresee these
challenges so that plans can be made to prevent and minimize any harmful
consequences, and to facilitate national development.
Globalization in the 21st century will witness rapid development of coastal cities
in the world. An innovative development plan, based on proper understanding of
the role of coastal cities, the planning issues and challenges ahead, is the key as it
provides a framework for effective utilization of resources in order to accomplish
sustainable development for coastal cities, and for the benefit of national econo-
mies.

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NOTES

 We wish to thank Professor Charles L. Choguill and the two anonymous referees for their helpful comments on
an earlier draft of this paper.
228 S. S. Han and Z. Yan

 Coastal cities may generally refer to all cities in the coastal region or coastal provinces, or the port cities along the
coast only. In this paper, coastal cities refer to port cities along China’s eastern coast. Cities refer to officially
designated cities by government classification standards. According to the standards endorsed by the State
Council for granting city status in China in 1986, a town with a minimum 60,000 non-agricultural population and
a minimum GDP of 200 million Renminbi yuan per annum is qualified to get official city-status. A county which
has over 500,000 people is qualified to obtain city status if the county seat has a minimum of 120,000
non-agricultural population, with an annum GDP more than 400 million yuan. A county which has less than
500,000 people may be qualified if its county seat has a minimum of 100,000 non-agricultural population, with an
annum GDP of 300 million yuan, and less than 40% of its total population is agricultural. For towns in
autonomous regions and minority areas, the above standards may be observed but flexibility should be given on
the basis of individual cases (Dang dai zhong guo, 1990, p. 116).

 Under the Third Frontier policy, which was implemented in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, provinces along
the eastern coast were perceived by the central government as the forefront of war. Thus, no investment was
directed to the coastal provinces for reasons of national defense. Mountainous areas such as Sichuan and Guizhou
were perceived safe and received investment for establishing industrial bases.

 The coastal emphasis in China’s regional development policies and the consequent fast growth in coastal
provinces are well discussed by many scholars (for examples, see Lin (1995) and Fan (1995) for the shifting of
policies, see World Bank (1997) for a description of coast-inland disparities). According to the World Bank (1997),
coast-inland disparities are attributable to the uneven human capital development, concentration of investment
(both domestic and foreign), natural advantages in accessing to the world market, and fiscal reform which made it
possible for the rich to be richer. The table below shows concentration of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the
coastal provinces. In the 1980s, the coastal provinces accounted for about 90% of the total FDI, while in the
mid-1990s, this percentage was still as high as 87%. Foreign investment was one of the causes of economic growth.
For example, the development of real estate markets was closely related with foreign investment (Han, 1998).
Interestingly, domestic investment in coastal provinces was attributable to fast-growing rural enterprises, rather
than state-owned enterprises (World Bank, 1997, p. 24). Indeed, non-state-owned enterprises are an emerging but
important force in shaping the development of China’s regions.

FDI inflows into China’s provinces (US$ millions, annual averages)

1983—86 1990 1995 1997

Coastal Provinces 1019 3201 32643 38559

(90.1) (93.2) (87.7) (85.2)
Non-coastal Provinces 110 234 4577 6342
(9.7) (6.8) (12.3) (14.0)
National total 1131 3436 37215 45257
(100) (100) (100) (100)

Note: Numbers in brackets are percentage out of the national total. National
total is different from the sum of the provincial total in the original source, because
of the inclusion of investment in central government ministries.
Source: Calculated by the authors, based on raw data from Commonwealth of
Australia (1997, p. 191), and Guo jia tong ji ju (1998, p.139).

 The Special Economic Zones and Open Coastal Cities received preferential treatment from the central govern-
ment, including investment incentives, and pilot reform experiments (World Bank, 1997). As a result, these cities
achieved a high level of income compared with other Chinese cities. The development of export processing zones,
which played important role for economic growth in these cities, was also an output of the preferential policies.
A detailed examination of the differences between coastal cities and inland cities in their physical development,
migration, economic growth and environmental changes is possible but beyond the scope of this paper. For our
purpose, we emphasize that coastal cities are different from the rest of cities in China mainly because: (1) they were
the first group selected to experiment with many of the reform policies, and to introduce market mechanisms, and
(2) they have been transformed from pure industrial bases or ports to regional economic centers. It is the timing of
reform and the transformation towards regional economic centers that make it interesting to explore the new issues
and challenges in the development and planning of coastal cities.

 By 1995, Shenzhen registered a total of 750,000 non-agricultural population, with a total industrial output value
of 122.64 billion Renminbi yuan. The latter accounted two-thirds of Tianjin’s total industrial output value, which
was outstanding because Tianjin is one of the major industrial cities in China (Guo jia tong ji ju, 1996).

 The restructuring of the central—local government relationships, which empowered the local states with more
control in local development and resource use, resulted in competition among provinces in acquiring raw
materials. Resource rich provinces attempted to hold and use the raw materials (e.g., cotton) within their own
province so that the manufacturing capacities could be built up. In the 1980s, Shanghai faced enormous difficulties
 China+s Coastal Cities 229

in obtaining raw materials for its manufacturing sector. At the same time, China’s open policy called for a major
trade center to serve the increasing demand of globalization of the Chinese economy. Thus, Shanghai was given
priority in economic restructuring in central government planning.

 Based on field reconnaissance and discussions with officials from Wenzhou. In fact, the improved linkage between
Wenzhou and the outside by railway was a point frequently mentioned by local planners, when explaining
Wenzhou’s success in urban development.

 Based on field reconnaissance and comments from respective local planners.

 For example, the National Peoples’ Congress endorsed acts of noise pollution control and water pollution
control. The State council issued orders and instructions in order to achieve the planned goals of environmental
protection for the year 2000. Various central government ministries endorsed sectoral regulations, such as
Administrative Methods for Environmental Protection in Power Industries, by the Ministry of Power, and The
Many Regulations on Environmental Protection for Coal Industry by the Ministry of Coal. Many local
governments also issued by-laws, regulations and measures for environmental control (Zhong guo huan jing nian
jian, 1997, p 88).

 That is, Law of Protection and Treatment of Water Pollution in the People’s Republic of China. The National
People’s Congress endorsed this law on 15 May 1996. See Ge (1998, pp. 344—348).

 No systematic estimation is available on the size of floating population in coastal cities. This number is
a common guess among planners based on results of studies done for different areas in different times over the last
few years.