Zhongya MA

Guizhou University of Engineering Science，Bijie 551700，China

Qingyang is a prefecture-level city in People's Republic of China.Qingyang is the easternmost prefecture-level division of Gansu and is thus sometimes referred to as＂Longdong＂.It forms an administrative peninsula，as it is surrounded，on all sides but the south，by Shaanxi and Ningxia.It is in the lower middle part of the Yellow River on the loess plateau and is within the eastern Gansu basin.It administers 1 district and 7 counties（Xifeng District，Qingcheng County，Huanxian County，Huachi County，Heshui County，Zhengning County，Ningxian County and Zhenyuan County）.Elevation ranges from 885 to 2082 meters above sea-level.Average temperatures for most Qingyang range between 7 to 10°C，and annual precipitation is 480 to 660 mm and there are between 140－180 frost free days.The area is 27119 km2with 200 km2of forest and 530 km2of grassland.Longnan has1 urban district，7 counties，and 146 towns with a total population of2211191（2010），only 310000 of which are urban residents.

Qingyang is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization，having a long history and a brilliant farming culture，known as＂Longdong granary＂.Qingyang has rich agricultural resources，located in the country's best-latitude area for apple production.It is the national specialty white pumpkin seed and day lily demonstration bases identified by the National Specialty Economic Development Center.It enjoys the reputation of＂Hometown of High Quality Chinese Apple＂，＂Hometown of Chinese Day Lily＂，＂Hometown of Chinese Minor Grain Crops＂，and＂Hometown of Chinese Apricot＂.Affected by the resource endowment，location，economic base and other factors，there is a clear difference in the development between the regions［1］.

How to accurately identify the level of economic development in the districts and counties of Qingyang City is an important issue related to the implementation of economic development strategy in Qingyang City.

Therefore，using the cluster analysis in the multivariate statistical analysis methods，this article objectively reflects the economic development in the districts and counties of Qingyang City，and divides the economic gradients for the integration of various resources and industrial structure adjustment in Qingyang City，in order to achieve economic integration within the city，and ultimately improve the overall competitiveness of the city.

1 Indicator selection，data sources and research methods

1.1 Indicator selection and data sourcesThe evaluation indicator system for comprehensive regional economic development level should objectively reflect the true level of regional economic development and regional economic gradient，and the indicators should complement each other［3］.In order to ensure the horizontal comparability of the indicator value，we try to select the relative indicators.

According to the principles of representativeness，systematicness and easy access，we draw on the evaluation indicator system for the comprehensive socio-economic strength of the Chinese county（city）and the indicators for measuring the regional development level，to form the evaluation indicators system for comprehensive economic development level of Qingyang City（Table 1）.

According to the indicators in Table 1，based on Gansu Statistical Yearbook（2012）and Gansu Rural Statistical Yearbook（2012），this paper selects 11 economic development indicators about eight regions of Qingyang City，to constitute a raw data matrix（Table 2）as the basis for analysis，and uses multivariate statistical methods to analyze the economic development of 8 regions of Qingyang City.

We select the raw data of Gansu Statistical Yearbook（2012）and Gansu Rural Statistical Yearbook（2012），and the raw data here refer to the data without being normalized，including the data directly obtained from the yearbook and the data obtained by calculation.

From the perspectives of economic growth，agricultural development，the development of township enterprises and farmers' income，we use these 11 indicators to build the indicator system reflecting the level of agricultural economic development.

Table 1 The evaluation indicator system for the level of comprehensive economic development in Qingyang City

1.2 Research methodsThe cluster analysis is used to classify the samples，and it is called Q clustering，while the cluster analysis is used to classify variables（different characteristics of the sample），and it is called R clustering.This paper uses Q clustering，which can comprehensively use the information of many variables to classify the samples.The classification results are clear and the clustering diagram can clearly demonstrate the numerical classification results［2］.

2 Results and analysis

2.1 Classification resultsThe data in Table 2 are imported into SPSS13.0 software，and the hierarchical clustering method is chosen to take the following variables as the clustering variables：GDP，per capita GDP，per capita total output value of primary industry，per capita output value of secondary industry，local financial income，agricultural value added，total output value of farming，forestry，animal husbandry and fishery，the growth rate of farming，forestry，animal husbandry and fishery，rural per capita net income，total output value of township enterprises，the taxes paid by township enterprises.

At the same time，＂regions＂are regarded as the label variables.The standard deviation method is used for the conversion of the raw data，and the data processing results are shown in Table 3.

Table 2 The raw data of evaluation indicators for the comprehensive economic development level in Qingyang City

Table 3 Normalized data

Squared Euclidean Distance is used to measure the distance of clustering statistic，and Between-groups Linkage is used for clustering［6］.The districts and counties of Qingyang City are divided into three gradients，and finally the results of clustering are obtained（Fig.1）.

According to Fig.1 and the comprehensive economic development level，the districts and counties of Qingyang City are divided into the following three categories：

（i）The first category：Xifeng；

（ii）The second category：Qingcheng and Huachi；

（iii）The third category：Huanxian，Heshui，Zhengning，Ningxian，and Zhenyuan.

Fig.1 The clustering analysis results of the level of agricultural economic development in the districts and counties of Qingyang City

2.2 Analysis of reasons for geographical differencesEach category will be regarded as an economic gradient，to get the gradient structure of comprehensive economic development level of Qingyang City.

（i）The first gradient：Xifeng.This gradient is the heart of Qingyang City，and the economic and cultural center of Qingyang City.A large population clusters here，and there are superior location conditions，rich human resources，natural landscape，cultural landscape and tourism resources.

The development level of secondary and tertiary industries is high，the industrial scale is large and the infrastructure conditions are good.It is the region with the highest level of economic development in Qingyang City.

（ii）The second gradient：Qingcheng and Huachi.This gradient is adjacent to the north of the first gradient，and its location conditions are second only to that of the first gradient.It is the main producing area of day lily，minor grain crops，white melon seeds and other characteristic agricultural products.

Due to financing difficulties and transportation constraints，the level of development is not high.In addition，there are rich oil resources in Huachi County，but the supporting conditions for resources development are poor，and there is a shortage of industrial resources with high comparative advantages.

（iii）The third gradient：Huanxian，Heshui，Zhengning，Ningxian，Zhenyuan.Most regions in this gradient are the peripheral regions of Qingyang City，and it is the gradient with the most members and largest area in the three economic gradients.

There are many kinds of characteristic agricultural resources in this gradient，such as Zaosheng cattle，Huanxian Tan sheep，Longdong black goat and wool having a worldwide reputation，but they are dispersed，and not well exploited.

The agricultural economic development lacks unified planning，and the infrastructure is poor.The low level of economic development is a feature common to all members of the gradient.Most of the enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises，with backward technology，fund shortage and serious mutual competition.

This phenomenon of duplicate development，small size and tepid economic strength has not only wasted a lot of money，but also hampered the regional brand building and the development of local economy［7］.In addition，remoteness，impassable roads，poverty of surrounding cities and backward environment reduce the enthusiasm of investors，and the investment share declines year by year.

3 Policy recommendations

Through the cluster analysis，we can find the categories of agricultural economic development in the districts and counties of Qingyang City.The overall agricultural economic development of Qingyang City has not yet realized industrialization，and the level of development is low.

There are rich characteristic agricultural resources，but due to various constraints of climate，environment，transport，finance，technology，etc.，the development of agricultural economy does not reach a certain scale，and the advantages of characteristic agricultural resources in the districts and counties are not prominent.

3.1 Building the origin brand and establishing the image of characteristic economyThe formation of well-known agricultural brands is a symbol of mature development of characteristic agriculture［8］.For the development of characteristic agriculture in the traditional agricultural area，the origin brands have more advantages than the corporate brands.

Since the agricultural production strongly depends on the land and the geographic environment has a great impact on the quality of agricultural products，the origin brands suit the consumers' habits of identifying agricultural products，so it is necessary to attach great importance to the building of overall regional brand of characteristic agriculture，and strive to improve the reputation of characteristic agricultural products in Qingyang City，thereby greatly enhancing the brand image of＂Qingyang characteristic economy＂，and establishing the modern economic image featuring powerful agriculture and processing industry.

3.2 Focusing on the development of competitive industries based on the local circumstances and regional characteristics

According to the theory of comparative advantage and the theory of resource endowments，it is necessary to choose the most advantageous industry from the agro-industries，and give up those industries neither having resource advantages nor having processing advantages［9］.

There is a need to actively develop cash crops，establish production bases，strictly control quality，and scientifically and rationally adjust the industrial structure；control the redundant rural small businesses，and promote the merger and cooperation of similar enterprises to form large-scale enterprises［10］.

For the crops with great advantages such as day lily，apple，apricot，tobacco，etc.，it is necessary to target the domestic and international markets to carry out large-scale operation，improve product quality and expand market influence and market share.

Relying on resources，it is necessary to take into account the industrial base，location advantages，market conditions and other factors，highlight the regional and local characteristics，maximize favorable factors and minimize unfavorable ones，and convert the potential comparative advantages into real product competitiveness.

3.3 Adjusting the industrial structure，increasing efforts to conduct fine and deep processing of agricultural products and extending the industrial chainQingyang City should positively develop the characteristic economy based on the superior geographical advantages，and vigorously cultivate famous high-quality products，with storage and processing of characteristic agricultural products as the key；accelerate the pace of upgrading the overall structure of agriculture，and pay particular attention to the development of dry foods easy to be transported，such as deep-processed dried fruits；vigorously promote the modern processing of Chinese herbal medicine，and use advanced processing tools to extract the concentrated active ingredients to increase the efficacy and facilitate the medicine taking；vigorously develop agriculture，industry，commerce，transport，services，tourism and other industries according to the local circumstances；broaden employment opportunities to promote the labor force to transfer to the secondary and tertiary industries，to make overall economic structure extend backward and forward；change the previous practice of only emphasizing the primary raw materials；vigorously develop the industrial management and expand the scope of marketing to improve the overall agricultural economic efficiency.

［1］LIYW，MA JH.Henan geography［M］.Kaifeng：Henan University Press，2006.（in Chinese）.

［2］DONGSC，WANGCS，YOU F，et al.On the laws of territorial differentiation of socio-economic development in western China［J］.Geographical Research，2002，21（4）：399－406.（in Chinese）.

［3］MAO XB.Cluster analysis of economic development in China［J］.Science Mosaic，2007（2）：23－25.（in Chinese）.

［4］Gansu Rural Year Book Editorial Committee.Gansu rural year book［M］.Beijing：China Statistics Press，2012.（in Chinese）.

［5］Gansu Statistical Yearbook Editorial Committee.Gansu statistical yearbook［M］.Beijing：China Statistics Press，2012.（in Chinese）.

［6］NIE YZ.Analysis on the competitiveness of agro-processing industry in Hubei Province［J］.Agricultural Economy，2007（2）：71－72.（in Chinese）.

［7］LIJL，HEHH.To energetically develop agriculture with special characteristics［J］.China Economist，2000（5）：95.（in Chinese）.

［8］WANGWZ.Consideration on issues of characteristic agricultural development in country of western China［J］.Journal of Soil and Water Conservation，2005（12）：145－147.（in Chinese）.

［9］BAIG，MA GZ.China has to follow agricultural products' branding road［M］.Beijing：China Economic Publishing House，2006.（in Chinese）.

［10］LY YY.Reserach on the development and strategies of agriculture product processing industry in China［M］.Beijing：China Light Industry Press，2006：6.（in Chinese）.