Pleven is located in the northwest of the Republic of Bulgaria on the Iskar River in the Danube Plain. It is the capital of Pleven State and an important political, economic, cultural and transportation center in northern Bulgaria. Pleven consists of two cities (Pleven, Slavianovo) and 23 villages, covering an area of 809.71 square kilometers and having a population of more than 150,000. It is the seventh largest city in Bulgaria. Pleven is 160 kilometers from the capital of Bulgaria-- Sofia, 320 kilometers from the Black Sea and 30 kilometers from the Danube.
Pleven is located in a fertile agricultural center, its major crops include wheat, barley, corn, sunflower, vegetables and grapes. The city has relatively developed machinery manufacturing, textile, ceramics, cement, rubber, tobacco, cans and other industrial and agricultural machinery plants, large petrochemical plants, and oil pipelines leading to the storage base. Pleven has 34 ordinary schools, 13 vocational high schools, 1 art school, 1 special school, and 1 university.
Yongchuan District and Pleven were established as sister cities in January 2012.
Exchanges between Yongchuan District and Pleven
In September 2010, Zereno Golski, Mayor of Pleven, led a delegation to visit Yongchuan District. The two sides exchanged views on the conclusion of sister cities and signed the Letter of Intent for the Establishment of Sister Cities. In July 2011, Jiang Youyi, the former governor of Yongchuan District, led a delegation to visit Pleven and signed a sister cities agreement with Pleven. The two sides expressed the intention to strengthen cooperation and seek common development in agriculture, education, tourism, industry and investment attraction. In May 2012, Anton Illiyev Pokov, Deputy Mayor of Pleven and his delegation visited Yongchuan District. Both sides negotiated on bilateral cooperation in agriculture, tourism, education, trade and other fields.