Houston is the fourth largest city in America. The subtropical city is located in the southeast of Texas on the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico. The downtown area of Houston covers an area of 617 square kilometers, with a population mainly consisting of whites, blacks and Hispanics.

Houston has a humid subtropical monsoon climate, with annual average temperature of 20.7 C and annual average rainfall at 1,224 mm. In summer, the weather is hot and humid, and there are more than 90 days that could exceed 33 C. There are 188 days of sunshine a year on average, and tornados usually hit during the period between July and November.

Houston enjoys convenient land transportation, with 14 railway lines and many expressways extending in all directions. Houston is the largest airport city in the Southern United States. There are also three airports, where dozens of airlines operate.

Houston boasts plentiful energy resources as well as many other natural resources. The Gulf of Mexico contains abundant oil and natural gas resources. There is a large reserve of other mineral and metal resources, such as barite, gypsum, magnesium and salt surrounding the city. Timber resources are also abundant. Houston is the center of the petroleum industry and the petrochemical industry in the United States and is named the “energy capital of the world”.

The renowned NASA and the largest medical center in the world are located in the south of Houston. It is also the petrochemical industrial center of America, home to the headquarters of 28 energy enterprises ranked among the top 100 energy enterprises. There are some 5,000 other companies engaged in the energy industry in the city. Houston now can refine 3.347 million barrels of crude oil annually, making up 21.7 percent of the annual refining capacity of the United States. The high-tech business is prospering in Huston, with Compaq Computer as a bellwether. In 2001, 22 companies in Huston ranked among the Top 500 enterprises selected by Fortune Magazine.

Houston is an important international financial and trade center, with 523 commercial banks, 393 mortgage service institutions and 521 securities trading service organizations. Forty banks ranked among the top 50 banks in the world have established branches here.