Formerly known as Huayuan Industrial Concentration Zone, the zone was founded in May 2008. It was approved as a provincial-level industrial concentration zone by the People's Government of Hunan Province in November 2012 and renamed Huayuan Industrial Development Zone in July 2021. Located in the northwest of Huayuan county seat, the zone sits close to expressway entrances. It takes around 20 minutes to reach Xiangxi Airport and about one hour to get to the high-speed railway station, enjoying a favorable geographic location.

The zone serves as the Hunan New Materials Industrial Base, the Xiangxi National High-tech Industrialization Base for Manganese Deep Processing, and a Demonstration Park for the Comprehensive Utilization of Manganese Resources. The prefectural Party committee and prefectural government of Xiangxi have prioritized its development as a 10-billion-yuan industrial park, and it functions as a demonstration zone for undertaking industrial transfer from eastern regions.

Guided by careful industrial planning, the zone coordinates the industrial layout in a scientific manner and forms an industrial framework of one pillar sector, one featured sector and three supporting sectors. It administers three major bases focusing on the intensive processing of manganese and zinc, the new materials and new energy industries, as well as the modern service industries. The planned total area of the zone covers 10 square kilometers. Seventy-one enterprises have settled here, including 23 industrial enterprises above designated size and 22 high-tech enterprises.

The zone boasts complete infrastructure facilities. It has built 450,000 square meters of standard factory buildings, one 220 kilovolts substation and one 110KV substation. An industrial water supply plant, a general sewage treatment plant and a heavy metal sewage treatment plant have all been put into operation, forming full coverage of road, power supply, water supply and sewage discharge networks. Two star-grade hotels, three large commercial and residential real estate projects, together with 1,458 sets of talent apartments and indemnificatory housing for the staff of settled enterprises have been completed. Supporting facilities covering daily life, medical care and education are fully available including hospitals, kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools, catering outlets, supermarkets, sports grounds and public transport services. The zone advances the integrated development of industry and city with high standards.

A comprehensive service hall with a floor area of nearly 2,000 sq m stands within the zone, housing all departments providing enterprise-related services and undertaking 145 delegated administrative powers. Enterprises can complete one-stop procedures covering business registration, property management services, water power and gas connection, customs clearance, logistics support, employee recruitment and administrative approval. Five scientific research and financial service platforms are also available including a provincial-level technology incubator, maker space, innovation and entrepreneurship demonstration base, financial supermarket and industrial fund. These platforms deliver solid support for settled enterprises in the areas of technological research and development, financial services and labor recruitment.

By the end of 2022, the zone had achieved a cumulative total industrial, commercial and technical revenue of 40.57 billion yuan ($5.97 billion) and paid total taxes of 3.37 billion yuan. The tax output per mu hit 55,500 yuan and the land development rate reached 33.70 percent. The added value of industrial enterprises above designated size stood at 776 million yuan, foreign trade export volume reached 14.88 million yuan, and investment in infrastructure construction totaled 2.81 billion yuan.

Huayuan county is the birthplace of targeted poverty alleviation, a demonstration county for rural revitalization in Hunan and a core part of the Demonstration Zone for Undertaking Industrial Transfer in Southern and Western Hunan. It sits at the junction of north-south power grids and acts as the gateway for the West-to-East Gas Transmission Project entering Hunan.

The county enjoys overlapping preferential investment policies covering ethnic regional autonomy, poverty alleviation, western region development, flexible electricity pricing, Wuling Mountain Area development and industrial transfer undertaking.

Upholding the philosophy that development stands as the top priority and investment promotion as the primary strategy, the county Party committee and government have rolled out Ten Articles on Investment Promotion and Thirty Preferential Policies for Investment Promotion with clear stances. Centered on strengthening the county through industrial growth, Huayuan opens its doors to invesstors. Settled enterprises can enjoy favorable policies in land supply, taxation, fiscal subsidies and water and electricity charges.

Huayuan Industrial Development Zone will fully capitalize on policy dividends. It will strengthen industrial chains, optimize the industrial layout, accelerate the integrated industrial and urban development, improve the local business environment, build a smart industrial park and lift comprehensive competitiveness. The zone will strive to develop itself into a high-quality provincial base for the new materials and new energy industries, a demonstration park for green mining industries, and a top-tier 10-billion-yuan industrial park in the Wuling Mountain Area, realizing mutual growth and progress of the zone and all resident enterprises.