Regarded as a bathhouse town, Ma’anshan is a close neighbour to Nanjing but one that is little known to many expats. New links between the two cities promise to help change that and improve cross border ties between Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.
Agreements signed on 14th December between the cities of Ma’anshan and Nanjing shall improve communication links, promote tourism as well as provide cross-city nursing services for the elderly.
According to the agreement, another highway between Nanjing and Ma’anshan shall be constructed; a connection of the Mapu Highway in Ma’anshan and the S304 in Jiangsu. The Mapu Highway opened to traffic on 1st July 2011, while work on the S304 extension shall commence in the first half of 2012.
Nursing services for the elderly in both Nanjing and Ma’anshan are also set to receive a shot in the arm. Privately run nursing homes shall receive government subsidies and local old age people in both cities can look forward to equal treatment in the future.
The two cities have in addition agreed on future plans for cross-promotion of the tourist industry.
While remaining cities in different provinces, Ma’anshan and Nanjing have for some time enjoyed very close links. Nanjing city buses run to Ma’anshan while Nanjing Lukou International Airport is only some 40 km distant. There is even occasional talk that Ma’anshan may ultimately become an additional county of Nanjing, a move that would greatly simplify procedures between the two cities but one that is politically daunting to say the least.
As a prefecture-level city in Anhui province, Ma’anshan is home to sulfur and limestone mines, plus chemical and cement factories, but despite also being a home of steel production, thanks to government environmental initiatives the city has gained recognition as one of the “Ten Green Cities of China”. With a per capital GDP of US$7,118 Ma’anshan is home to a little less than 1.5 million people.
