Situated in the central north of Zhejiang Province and to the south of Hangzhou Bay of the Yangtze River Delta, Shaoxing County neighbors Hangzhou in the northwest and Ningbo in the east. To its north sits Shanghai. 　　

Economic Situation

Listed among the nation’s top ten counties and located in the coastal economic opening corridor, Shaoxing county is one of the regions in China which enjoy full-fledged civilian-run economy and market economy. An open economy has taken shape based on industry and complemented by the synchronized development of trade, tourism, architecture, real estate and agriculture. The county has come to be a magnet for overseas investors. In 2001, its gross domestic product hit 20.4 billion yuan, which means a 12.3% growth over the previous year and 28,200 yuan (about US $3,400) of per capita GDP. Keqiao is a new city with booming markets and forges ahead to be a first-rate town in Zhejiang. Shaoxing is pressing forward to be a first-rate county in China.

Industry
Along with the promotion of traditional sectors such as textiles, machinery, construction materials, foods and furniture, the county gives priorities to high-tech industries in the fields of electronics, IT, bio-medicine and fine chemicals. In 2001, the industrial value added stood at 12.08 billion yuan, among the highest in the province.
Textile industry based on shuttle weaving is the pillar of the county, which covers also chemical fiber spinning, yarn spinning, knitting, printing and dyeing, and apparel manufacture. There are some 30,000 world-class shuttleless looms, weaving annually over 3 billion meters of textiles. The annual printing and dyeing capacity comes up to 4 billion meters. The county turns out per annum 400,000 tons of raw material for chemical fiber, the consumption of which accounts for 25% of the total in China. The output value of the textile industry exceeds 60% of the total industrial output value of the county. 　　　

Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation
To date, 574 foreign-funded enterprises have been established with US$2.094 billion in total investment and US$434 million in actual foreign input. The county has set up abroad 28 firms, and has trade relations with 147 countries and regions. In 2001, imports and exports totaled US$1.122 billion of which US$850 million were directly-handled exports, and the turnover from contracting foreign projects hit US$10.53 million. 　　

Agriculture
Known since ancient times as land of opulence, Shaoxing enjoys highly-developed crop cultivation and aquaculture. In recent years, focus has been on efficient agriculture and intensive farming. The agricultural value added in 2001 came up to 1.31 billion yuan.