Chinese	Go to :Seattle Area Attractions 西 雅 圖 風 光

Seattle is one of the most magnificent cities in the western of the United States of America. Seattle’s spectacular environs of mountains, lakes, forest and shorelines make it a city that people choose to live in for geographic characteristics.   It is considered the best places to live in the United States.

Economically, it has diversified industries such as agriculture, aircraft, high tech, medical research, tourism and particularly trade with Pacific Rim countries.  Virtually, Seattle provides a highly favorable investment climate with opportunity for development and continued growth.

·        Seattle was considered America’s most Livable City in 1993.

·        Seattle was ranked No.2 among major U.S. cities as the best place to raise kids 1994 

·        A nationwide poll of top executives ranked Seattle No.2 among major U.S cities as a place to locate a desirable business.         

·        Seattle was rated tops again in 1996 from Fortune magazine.  “ An affordable life. A safe life. A profitable life. May be even a wonderful life” It was rated the best cities for work and family.

·        Post Office Service in Seattle was rated among the top in U .S. A. as the most efficient city of handling mails promptly in 1997.

·        Washington State as among the ten fastest growing states in the nation since 1988 with diversified industries such as agriculture, aircraft, high tech, medical research, tourism and particularly trade with Pacific Rim countries.

·        Boeing is still the largest commercial airplane manufacturing company in the world now. According to the Seattle Post Intelligence (P. I) on 5/26/99 the Boeing Co. closed to a $4 billion order for 747 and 777 jetliners from China Airlines, marking the Seattle-based aircraft maker’s biggest Asian order since that region’s economic crisis began in 1998.

·        Washington is the leading timber industry in the nation.  Weyerhaeuser Company is one of the fortune 500 largest companies in U.S.A.

·        Washington has the largest Software Company in the world, Microsoft Company, which employ more than 30,000 around the world.

·        Seattle was considered third on the nation’s high tech map with hundreds of computer hardware/software telecommunications, biomedical and biotechnology companies based in the Seattle and King county areas.

·        Seattle was rated tops again in 1996 from Fortune magazine “ An affordable life.  A safe life. A profitable life. May be even a wonderful life” It was rated the best cities for work and family.

·        McClaw Cellular Communication, Inc (wireless phone) was the first wireless phone in the world.  On Nov 1997, ATT Company acquired McClaw.

·        Washington is the U.S ‘s leading producer of hops (75 percent of the total crops), apples (46 percent), sweet cherries, processing carrots and red raspberries.

·        Starbucks Coffee is one of largest coffee shop and coffee product in the world.  It has 2079 stores around the world including 100 shops outside the U.S. in 1997. But in 2004, It has 5,945 stores in the United States and 2,392 more overseas and in Canada.

·        Amazon.com is the largest and a leader in the Internet industry in the world. Originally, it just sells books, now only expanding to video, music, auctions and other business.

·        Seattle and the Washington areas is viewed as a fertile field by California companies because the higher labor and real estate costs in California have driven a lot of industries and companies to diversity out the state.  In addition, California faces the serious problems in transportation, education, overcrowding and an aging inadequate infrastructure.

·        Seattle has the closest major airport and seaport in the continental United State to Asia.  The distance from Tokyo to Seattle is 4,781 miles, compared with 5,135 miles between Tokyo and San Francisco and 5,433 miles between Tokyo and Los Angeles.

·        Seattle ‘s strategic location and excellent multi-code transportation network make it a major center foe international commerce, international transshipment and investment.

·        Past activities or attractions in Seattle and other areas in Washington include:

·        1962- Seattle was the host of the World Fair- Seattle Center.

·        1974- Spokane, Washington was the host of the World Fair.

·        1984 & 1998- Seattle Kingdoms Stadium- NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship Game (National Colleges Athletic Association).  In 1988, during a one week tournament, it brought Seattle about $50 million in business.

·        1990- Seattle was the host of Goodwill Games sponsored by a Cable TV News Network Company (CNN).  It brought about 2,000 athletics from around the world to compete.

·        1992- Regional NCAA Tournament in Seattle

·        1993- APEC meeting was held in Seattle, all APEC leaders, such as President Clinton (President of U.S A.) and Chairman Jiang Zeman,  (Chairman of Peoples’ Republic of China) got together discussing economics and politics issue.

·        1995- NCAA Final Basketball Championship.

·        Washington has 29 four-year colleges and university, 27 two-year college and five vocational-technical institutes.

·        The University of Washington has been among the top five institutions in the U.S in receipt of federal grant and contract since 1968, and is among the top ten institutions with private industry funding since 1988.