Economy

Benxi's economy grew 10% in 2012 to a regional GDP of 111.24 billion CNY. Ranked eighth out of fourteen prefecture level cities in Liaoning, the city's GDP accounted for approximately 4% of provincial total. Urban per-capita disposable income was 22,466 CNY, and consumption per capita 16,064 CNY.With 46 large and medium-sized enterprises in Benxi, main industrial products are raw iron (14 million tons), steel (13 million tons), finished steel (12 million tons), cement (3 million tons) and raw coal (1 million tons). In 2008, 92,615 people were employed in manufacturing, 20,368 in education, 19,228 in public administration and social organizations, 17,913 persons in the mining industry, and 12,997 in transportation and storage. According to the type of business ownership, 63,000 were employed in private companies.Uranium is mined in the region.As of 2009, Asia's biggest iron ore mine, which is reported to possess more than 3 billion tons of proven reserves, has been found in this region.

Geography

Benxi is located within latitude 40° 49'–41° 35' N and longitude 123° 34'–125° 46' E, and has a total area of 8,411.31 square kilometres (3,247.62 sq mi). To the east is Jilin City (Jilin), to the south is Dandong, to the southwest is Anshan (though the two don't actually border each other), to the west is Liaoyang, to the northwest is Shenyang, and to the north is Fushun. The area has many mountains as well as great forest coverage (74%).Climate[edit]Benxi has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa), characterised by hot, humid summers, due to the East Asian monsoon, and long, cold and windy, but dry winters, due to the Siberian anticyclone. The four seasons here are distinctive. Nearly half of the annual rainfall occurs in July and August alone. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −11.5 °C (11.3 °F) in January to 24.0 °C (75.2 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 7.83 °C (46.1 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 38% in July to 63% in February, the city receives 2,325 hours of bright sunshine annually.

History

As early as 400,000 years ago, there were people living in Benxi prefecture, which was indicated by Miaohou Mountain ruins with human fossils and stone tools explored in this region.The worst coal mining disaster in the world took place on April 26, 1942 in Benxihu Colliery. A coal-dust explosion killed 1,549 miners working that day，making it the worst disaster in the history of coal mining and the second worst recorded industrial accident. The explosion sent flames bursting out of the mine shaft entrance. Miners' relatives rushed to the site but were denied entry by a cordon of Japanese guards who erected electric fences to keep them out. In an attempt to curtail the fire underground, the Japanese shut off the ventilation and sealed the pit head. Witnesses say that the Japanese did not evacuate the pit fully before sealing it, trapping many Chinese workers underground to suffocate in the smoke.