Gang Rui, the Party secretary of the city of Benxi, in Liaoning province, doesn't have just one dream that inspires him to work harder every day, he's got several, one of which is building his city into the nation's capital of steel, medicines, and maple tree.

Gang said that, back at the start of the new China, Benxi was picked out as a key industrial city, but, after almost half a century of exploitation, its environment was seriously damaged and heavily polluted.

Now, however, he says that he takes pride in his city and the fact that it is on the nation's "Environmental Protection Model City" list.

That road to success has had its twists and turns, but Gang says he believes it can have even greater successes. He bases this on the city's solid industrial strengths and unique resources.

One example of that was the merger of Bengang Steel and Beigang Steel, producing a new giant, BX Steel, with an annual production capacity of up to 20 million tons.

BX Steel also has the world's largest hot rolling machine and nation's largest blast furnace. Also situated in Benxi are the Nanfen open-pit iron mine, Asia's largest, and Dataigou iron mine, with reserves of more than 10 billion tons.

Pan says he expects BX Steel to join the Fortune 500 and have a steel production that exceeds 20 million tons, by the end of 2015, with an output value of 100 billion yuan.

Still, the steel industry base made a resolute decision during the financial crunch to explore new economic growth areas as well.

One related development was when the city established a pharmaceutical center in an area between Benxi and Shenyang, Liaoning's capital, in 2008. The city is expecting that 50 of its pharmaceutical products will have an output value of 100 million yuan.

By 2010, the center had193 projects and 55 enterprises. Under the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), it plans to expand its production center to a 60-square-kilometer area and attract 500 enterprises.

Then there is that other dream of the Party secretary: becoming China's maple tree capital by using Benxi's forestry coverage of 74.5 percent, with maple trees the key component.

The city also has its own historical, natural resources. Wunushan Mountain, for example, has relics dating back to the Gaogouli Kingdom, 37-668 AD, which is on the World Cultural Heritage list. The city is applying for a Natural Heritage listing for what it says is the world's largest karst cave.