Switzerland

Industry is the main body of the Swiss national economy, and industrial output accounts for about 50% of the GDP. Switzerland's main industrial sectors include: watches, machinery, chemicals, food and other sectors. Switzerland is known as the "Kingdom of Watches". Since the production of watches in Geneva in 1587, it has maintained its leading position in the world's watch industry for more than 400 years. In recent years, Swiss watch exports have increased significantly. The machinery manufacturing industry mainly produces textile machinery and power generation equipment. Machine tools, precision instruments, meters, transportation machinery, agricultural machinery, chemical machinery, food machinery, and printing machinery are also important. In recent years, the production of typewriters, computers, cameras, and movie cameras has developed rapidly. The products of the food industry are mainly for domestic needs, but cheese, chocolate, instant coffee and concentrated food also enjoy a high reputation in the world, so Switzerland is also the kingdom of chocolate. The chemical industry is also an important pillar of Swiss industry. At present, pharmaceuticals account for about 2/5 of the output value of the chemical industry, and dyes, pesticides, balsams, and flavors also play an important role in the international market.

The Netherlands

The Four Treasures of the Netherlands

Windmills

Windmills were originally invented by the Dutch and adapted to the needs of water power utilization and the mill industry. Although it is still a "national trademark" of the Netherlands, it is rarely used in practice. Of course we can’t bring back the big windmills from the Netherlands, but small souvenirs of the windmill models are ok and should be considered as souvenirs of your visit to the Netherlands.

People often call the Netherlands the "country of windmills". The Netherlands is a country in western Europe with a population of just over 10 million. Its real country name is "Netherlands". "Ned" means low, and "Lan" means land. Together they are called the "low-lying country". One-third of the Netherlands is only 1 meter above the North Sea, and nearly one-quarter is below sea level. It is truly the "Netherlands".

The Netherlands is located in the prevailing westerly belt of the earth, with westerly winds blowing throughout the year. At the same time, it is close to the Atlantic Ocean and is a typical country with a maritime climate. The sea and land breezes are constant all year round. This provides generous compensation for the use of wind power to the Netherlands, which lacks water and power resources.

The Dutch windmills were first introduced from Germany. In the beginning, windmills were only used for grinding flour and the like. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, windmills were of particularly great significance to the Dutch economy. It has: papermaking and other functions, and is known as the "Land of Windmills". The Netherlands has always been famous for its windmills. The place with the most preserved windmills is "Children's Difang".

Did you read this story when you were a child? A little boy saw a crack in the embankment and seawater seeping in. He was worried that the village would be submerged by sea water, so he blocked the embankment with his fingers and saved the whole village...

Today, there are still There are 19 windmills, and you can also see Dutch women wearing traditional clothes.

Until August 26, it is the "Windmill Day" in the Netherlands this year. Every Saturday, the windmills in Kinderdijf will rotate together, and some even open their interiors for visitors to visit.

At that time, the Netherlands played a leading role in the world's commerce. Various raw materials were transported to windmills from various waterways for processing, including: wood from the Nordic countries and the countries along the Baltic Sea, and hemp seeds and linseeds from Germany. , cinnamon and pepper from India and Southeast Asia. In the suburbs of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, the great ports of the Netherlands, there are many windmills, sawmills and paper mills.

As the Dutch people carried out large-scale land reclamation projects from the sea, windmills played a huge role in this arduous project. According to the local climate characteristics of humid, rainy and changeable wind directions, they reformed the windmill. The first step is to equip the windmill with a movable roof. In addition, in order to be able to face the wind from all sides, they installed the top of the windmill on rollers. This kind of windmill is called a Dutch windmill.

The largest Dutch windmills are several stories high, with wind wings up to 20 meters long. Some windmills are made of a single piece of large oak wood.

At the end of the 18th century, there were approximately 12,000 windmills in the Netherlands, each with 6,000 horsepower. These windmills were used to grind grain, coarse salt, tobacco leaves, press oil, roll woolen cloth, felt, make paper, and drain stagnant water from swamps. It is these windmills that continuously absorb and drain water, protecting two-thirds of the country's land from sinking and man-made threats from fish and turtles.

Since the 20th century, due to the development of steam engines, internal combustion engines, and turbines, the ancient windmills that relied on wind power once became dim and almost forgotten. However, because windmills utilize natural wind power and do not suffer from pollution or exhaustion, they have not only been used by the Dutch people to this day, but have also become a new form of energy today, deeply attracting people.

Currently, there are about two thousand windmills of various types in the Netherlands. The Dutch love their windmills and often praise them in folk songs and proverbs. Windmill buildings are always decorated as beautifully as possible. During major festivals, the windmill is decorated with garlands and hung with national flags and cardboard suns and stars.

Tulips

Why are tulips so famous all over the world? A very big factor is because of the Netherlands. Tulips are the national flower of the Netherlands, and the Dutch love tulips very much. Tulips have become an indispensable thing in their lives. They always seem to play the leading role in every market or flower show. If you find it inconvenient to carry flowers, you can choose to buy dried flowers made from fresh flowers, which will still look decent as your decorations. There are many tulips in the Netherlands.

Cheese

If someone asks you what is delicious in the Netherlands, nine times out of ten people will think of cheese. The Dutch have a variety of cheeses, more than you can imagine. Cheeses are also graded like wine, and the most expensive ones will leave you jaw-dropping. If you can accept this kind of food, you might as well buy some. You can also taste it before buying. The slight sourness and sweetness are perfectly combined, and the taste is very mellow.

Dutch wooden shoes

Dutch wooden shoes, windmills, wooden shoes, cheese, and tulips are known as the four treasures of the Netherlands, and wooden shoes are at the top of the four treasures, and their status is evident. Wooden shoes became a specialty of the Netherlands, which is related to the short lighting period and low-lying terrain. There are less than 70 days of sunny weather in the year. This makes the Dutch love sunshine just as they love the "sunflowers" written by their painter Van Gogh. It also forces them to wear sturdy wooden shoes to deal with the wet ground and work in the fields. Different styles of poplar wooden shoes are worn for garden work and even indoor cleaning. Later, the shrewd Dutch developed the production of wooden shoes into a semi-mechanical process, and wooden shoes became a specialty product and tourist souvenir. Dutch wooden shoes are just a kind of handicraft. In fact, wooden shoes have important practical value to the Dutch, at least historically. Because the land in the Netherlands is too humid, wooden shoes are best resistant to moisture and last a long time, so they have become a favorite of the Dutch.

Dutch Snack - Raw Herring

In addition, the Dutch eat herring in a very special way. Instead of frying or baking it, they eat it directly with chopped onions or with egg yolk salad. Eat raw with sauce. It is sold at tourist attractions and street stalls in downtown areas. In front of the fish stalls in the Netherlands, you can always see well-dressed locals holding the tail of the fish with their thumb and forefinger, lifting the fish upside down, dipping it in the onions, raising their heads, with the fish head pointing toward their mouths, and then Opening his mouth wide, he swallowed the raw fish into his mouth and chewed it. The whole action was done in one go, which was very enjoyable.

Kitchen method: Wash the raw fish, soak it in salt water for 2-3 days, then take it out and remove the fish head and bones, and finally add some onions, it is delicious.

Denmark

Industry dominates the national economy. In 2003, the total industrial output value reached 542.37 billion Danish kroner, accounting for approximately 38.9% of the GDP. The number of employees is 423,000, accounting for 15.3% of the total employment.

The main industrial sectors are: food processing, machinery manufacturing, oil exploration, shipbuilding, cement, electronics, chemicals, metallurgy, medicine, textiles, furniture, papermaking and printing equipment, etc. More than 60% of the products are exported, accounting for about 75% of the total exports. Products such as marine main engines, cement equipment, hearing aids, enzyme preparations and artificial insulin are world-renowned. Enterprises are mainly small and medium-sized.

Agriculture and animal husbandry are highly developed. In recent years, due to the profound influence of the EU's agricultural policies, the share of agriculture in the national economy has been declining year by year, but it still accounts for a large proportion of foreign trade. In 2003, the total output value of agriculture and animal husbandry (including fishery and forestry) was 64.493 billion kronor, accounting for 4.6% of the GDP that year. Agriculture and animal husbandry are combined, with animal husbandry as the mainstay. The output value of animal husbandry and forestry is 60.612 billion kronor, accounting for 94% of the total agricultural output value. There are 2.658 million hectares of arable land, 48,600 farms, and 101,000 employees, accounting for 3.6% of the total employment. The level of agricultural science and technology and productivity rank among the world's advanced countries. In addition to satisfying the domestic market, about 65% of agricultural and livestock products are exported, accounting for 10.6% of total exports. The export volume of pork, cheese and butter ranks among the top in the world. Denmark is the world's largest mink fur producer. In 2003, there were 1,998 mink farms, producing about 12.2 million mink furs.

The world’s 15th largest fishing country, Europe’s second largest, and the EU’s largest fishing country, its fishing volume accounts for about 36% of the EU’s total fishing volume. In 2002, the total fishing volume was about 1.328 million tons, mainly cod, flounder, Mackerel, eel and shrimp are mainly used to produce fish oil and fish meat.