Zhuhai, Guangdong province

The city of Zhuhai [Photo/VCG]

Major social and economic indicators (2018)

Area: 1,736 sq km
Population: 1,766,000
Gross domestic product (GDP): 291.47 billion yuan ($43.49 billion)
GDP per capita: 159,400 yuan
Value of total merchandise trade: 324.63 billion yuan
Value of export: 188.71 billion yuan
Value of import: 135.92 billion yuan
Industrial structure (% of GDP):
Primary industry (agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery): 1.7% of GDP
Secondary Industry (industrial and construction): 49.2% of GDP
Tertiary industry (service industry): 49.1% of GDP
Port cargo throughput: 137.99 million tons
Passenger throughput:
Visitors received: 5.14 million passenger trips
Zhuhai Jinwan International Airport: 11.22 million passenger trips

Note: the above figures are provided by relevant Guangdong provincial and municipal government departments. 

Industries

Zhuhai is located in the south-central part of Guangdong province and at the confluence of the Pearl River and South China Sea, adjoining Zhongshan to the north and Macao to the south.

Since its establishment as a special economic zone in 1980, Zhuhai has achieved constant rapid economic development particularly in industrial production. The six basic industries of Zhuhai are electronic information, home appliances, electricity and energy, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices, petrochemicals, and precision machinery. Printing supplies and yacht manufacturing are its other two special industries.

Transport

Zhuhai has convenient land, sea, and air transportation. Zhuhai Port is one of the main coastal ports of the country and is one of the five major ports in Guangdong province.

With high-grade arterial highways as the frame, Zhuhai highways center on the city and radiate to counties and districts. There are highway coaches to and from many major southern cities in the country.

The Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway, Taiyuan-Macao Expressway, Guangdong Western Coastal Expressway, and Jiangmen-Zhuhai Expressway all pass through Zhuhai and link the Chinese mainland with Hong Kong and Macao.

Meanwhile, the intercity MRT railway line that connects Guangzhou, Foshan, Jiangmen, and Zhuhai is under construction.

There are a total of eight harbor areas in Zhuhai, such as Gaolan and Jiuzhou.

Gaolan is one of the leading international ports in Guangdong province. This natural deep-water port is located in the southwest of Zhuhai. It has 45 production berths, of which 20 are designed for over 10,000 tons. Specializing in petrochemicals, energy, and equipment manufacturing, the port handled 107 million tons of cargo in 2014. At present, the main channel has a capability to handle 100,000 tons of cargo, and additionally a 150,000 dwt channel is close to opening. Companies in residence include BP, Royal Dutch/Shell, BMW, China National Petroleum, Hutchison Whampoa, SinoChem, COSCO, and a growing number of other World Top 500 Enterprises.

Jiuzhou Port in Zhuhai is a traffic junction of the South China region and the Asia-Pacific region on the sea. It has a direct navigation to and from the large harbors inside and outside the province, as well as Hong Kong and Macao. There are boats continuously travelling between Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai daily.

Zhuhai Airport is located at the southwest tip of Sanzao in western Zhuhai. The modern airport now has direct flights to and from more than 20 major cities, such as Chongqing, Shanghai, Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Beijing, Chengdu, Changsha, and more.

In addition, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge opened to public traffic on Oct 23, 2018. The 55 km-long bridge connects China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Zhuhai, and Macao SAR.

Major Development Areas

National level:

Zhuhai Economic and Technological Development Zone

Zhuhai High-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Zhuhai Free Trade Zone

Zhuhai-Macao Cross-border Industrial Zone

Zhuhai Gaolan Port Economic Zone

Provincial level:

Zhuhai Fushan Industrial Park

Zhuhai Jinwan Liangang Industrial Park

Hengqin New Area

The State Council approved the implementation of the Overall Development Plan for Hengqin on Aug 14, 2009. According to the Plan, Hengqin Island, an area of 106.5 square kilometers, was incorporated into the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone, and would be built into a demonstration area for the exploration of a new model of "Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao" cooperation under the "one country, two systems" principle. Hengqin focuses on the development of four industries, namely: business services; leisure entertainment and tourism; science; education, research, and development; and high-tech industries.

Role in Greater Bay Area

Support Zhuhai in fully leveraging its strength, deepening reform and innovation, enhancing its composite strength, and developing into a key node city with distinct characteristics, complementary positioning, and strong competitiveness; increase coordination in development, strengthen interaction and cooperation with the core cities, drive the development of towns nearby with distinct characteristics, and jointly raise the development quality of the city cluster.

Key words for Guangzhou in the Greater Bay Area

Development platform:

Develop Hengqin of Zhuhai demonstration zone for in-depth cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao.

Entrepreneurship & employment:

Establish experimental zones for entrepreneurship and employment for Hong Kong and Macao in Hengqin of Zhuhai, allow on a trial basis, enterprises and professionals that have obtained the corresponding qualifications for providing construction and related engineering consultation services in Hong Kong and Macao to provide mainland market entities with direct services, and introduce more pilot projects and opening up measures gradually.

Leading role of growth poles:

Leverage the leading roles of the powerful combination of Macao-Zhuhai, deepen cooperation between Macao and Zhuhai, enhance their overall strength and global influence, and lead the Greater Bay Area in participating in international cooperation with great intensity.

Industry layout:

Develop an industrial belt for advanced equipment manufacturing on the west bank of the Pearl River, spearheaded by Zhuhai and Foshan.

Set up general aviation demonstration zones in Zhuhai.

Modern service industry:

Study and explore the development of a Macao-Zhuhai cross-boundary financial cooperation demonstration zone.

Support municipalities such as Zhuhai to leverage their own strengths, and develop financial products with distinct characteristics.

Information about transport and industry is courtesy of bayarea.gov.hk.