Resources

Among the rich mineral resources of the region, tin ranks first in the country and zinc second. There are also sizeable reserves of antimony, aluminium, tungsten and lead. The region has the nation's largest reserves of manganese and crystal. Guangxi has a forested area extending to 5.5 million hectares with more than 5,000 species of plants. With a sub-tropical climate and fertile soil, Guangxi produces a large number of cash crops, including sugar cane, palm-oil seeds , bananas, pineapples and rosin. Among these, the amount of sugar- cane and fruits produced is the largest in the country. The Beibu Bay is one of the most important tropical fishing grounds in China and abundant aquatic produce such as shrimp, shellfish, squid, pearl and oyster can be found along its 1,595 kilometre coastline. Beihai and Hepu are Guangxi's major fishing ports. Guangxi also produces some of the best pearls in the world.