It sets two targets: an “efficient eco-economic zone” with the economic and social development compatible with the capacity of the resources and environment by 2015; and a national “efficient eco-economic zone” featuring strong economic growth, an excellent environment and generally prosperous life by 2020.The Yellow River Delta is located where the 5,464-kilometer-long river flows into the Bohai Sea, and covers a land area of 26,500 square kilometers, stretching across Dongying, Binzhou, Weifang, Dezhou, Zibo and Yantai in China’s East Shandong province. This area is one sixth of Shandong’s land area and has a population of 9.85 million.

The plan emphasizes the development of four cities near ports: Dongying, Binzhou, Weifang and Laizhou, which together encompass a total of 4,400 square kilometer.

The delta is home to more than 533,000 hectares of less developed land and one million hectares of shallow sea area. It is rejuvenated by an average of 1,000 hectares of new land created annually by deposited silts carried by the Yellow River.

With the approval of this plan, Shandong Province is now intensifying its infrastructure construction. Three railways connected with the Yellow River Delta – the Handan-Jinan expansion line, the Dezhou-Dajiawa railway, and the Longkou-Yantai railway – are all under construction.

"As a major city in the yellow river delta, Dongying will intensify efforts on developing port- vicinity industry, environment-friendly tourism, eco-fishery industry and high-end industry, in a bid to lead the initiative of developing the yellow river into an efficient eco-economic zone,” Zhang Jianhua, the mayor of Dongying said.

The region’s GDP is expected to reach 1.3 trillion yuan by 2020, according to the plan.