Houston Port is the third largest port in America and the sixth largest in the world, with the largest foreign throughput in America. Sixty-six fixed shipping routes connect the port with 250 ports in 113 other countries and regions. Major exports include petrochemical products, agricultural products, and industrial equipment and machinery.

There are 38 colleges and universities in the city, with more than 230,000 students on campus, among which Houston University is the largest and Rice University, nicknamed the “Harvard of the Southern United States”, is the most prestigious. The Texas Medical Center is one of the largest and most prestigious medical centers in the world, as its research on cancer diseases and heart diseases lead the world. The NASA Johnson Space Center, established in 1962, covers an area of 1,620 acres and has a staff of 17,000 people. The space center is the NASA base for astronaut training and space ship and station design and development.

Houston is also a research center for marine science. Half of the more than 70 oceanographic institutions in America are headquartered in Huston, and the rest have set up branches here. There are also some 1,500 companies engaged in the field in Houston. The Johnson Space Center has an investment of $1.2 billion when it was established in 1962. By 1994, the annual fiscal budget had reached $2.3 billion.

Houston is the capital of art, where people can appreciate dramas, ballets, operas and symphonies all performed by local companies. Major institutions committed to promoting culture and art development include the Houston Cultural Arts Council, the Art Fund and the Houston Municipal Art Committee.

Major events in Houston:

January: Huston International Marathon

February: Galveston Mardi Gras, Houston Auto Show

March: Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo

April: Houston International Festival

May: Art Car Parade

June: June Teens Celebration

July: Independence Day Fireworks

August: Shakespeare Festival

Ballunar Liftoff Festival

October: Air Show

November: Thanksgiving Day Parade

December: Holiday Lights