Zhuhai
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| Image:ChinaGuangdongZhuhai.png | |
| Administration Type | Prefecture-level city |
| City Seat | Xiangzhou District (Template:Coor dm) |
| Area | 1,653 km² |
| Coastline | 690 km (including islands) |
| Population | 1,332,000 (2004) |
| GDP - Total - Per Capita | ¥54.628 billion (2004) ¥41,800 (2004) |
| Major Nationalities | Han |
| County-level divisions | 3 |
| Township-level divisions | |
| CPC Committee Secretary | Deng Weilong (邓维龙) |
| Mayor | Wang Shunsheng (王顺生) |
| Area code | 756 |
| Postal Code | 519000 |
| License Plate Prefix | 粤C |
Image:China-zhuhai.jpg Image:Zhongda ZH3.jpg Zhuhai (Template:Zh-cp; lit. "Pearl Sea") is a prefecture-level city on the southern coast of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. Located in the Pearl River Delta, Zhuhai borders Jiangmen to the northwest, Zhongshan to the north, and Macau to the south.
Contents |
Administration
The prefecture-level city of Zhuhai administers 3 county-level divisions, all of which are districts
- Xiangzhou District (香洲区)
- Doumen District (斗门区)
- Jinwan District (金湾区)
Geography
Zhuhai borders the Macau Special Administrative Region (north and west), and 140 km southwest of Guangzhou. Its territory counts 146 islands and a coastline of 690 km.
Economy
Zhuhai has become an independent city in 1979, a year before it was named as one of the first Special Economic Zones (SEZ). The neighboring city of Shenzhen becamee the first Special Economy Zone in 1978. The implementation of this policy is logical as Zhuhai is located on the strategic position facing Macau, in the identical fashion to the Shanezehn SEZ facing to Hong Kong. This enabled the Chinese Central Government to open another "window" in front of Macau. Even though the city find its place at the southern end of the Pearl River Delta area, Zhuhai is granted to act as one of the central cities in the Pearl River Delta according to the new general urban plan approved by the State Council. The implementation of Special Economy Zone means that the city will grow as a powerful modern port city, science and education city, scenic and tourism city, and as a regional hub for transportation.
The outstanding geographic location, a wide range of supporting infrastructures and a deep-water port serve as a big magnet for foreign capital. Indeed, the utilized foreign investment reached US$ 0.94 billion in 2002. Among the top 500 enterprises worldwide, 19 of them have investment projects in Zhuhai such as EssoMobil, British Petroleum, Siemen, Carrefour and Matsushita. Hong Kong is still the largest foreign investor in Zhuhai accounting for 22% of total utilized foreign investment in 2002.
Manufacturing Industries
Industrial development in Zhuhai focuses on 5 new high-tech and heavy industries including electronics, computer sofware, biotechnology and pharmacy, machinery and equipment as well as petrochemical industries. Aiming to strengthen the existing industrial base as well as to provide a better environment for the development of new high-ttech industries, the local government has taken the initiative in developing five economic zones:
- Zhuhai High-Tech Industrial Development Zone
- Zhuhai free trade zone
- Harbour industrial zone (provincial level)
- Wanshan ocean development testing zone (provincial level)
- Heng Qin economic development zone (provincial level)
Transportation
Air
Zhuhai Airport (IATA airport code ZUH) is located in Doumen District.
Land
At present, there is an expressway linking Zhuhai and Foshan. Heavy traffic between Zhuhai and Macau has led to the construction of a new cross-border corridor, the Lotus Bridge, built in November 1999 to divert traffic away from the congested Gongbei gate. As part of the Pearl River Delta integration, a Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is projected.
Sea
An attractive and clean environment and good deep-port condition are advantages of Zhuhai. Endowed by a long coastline, Zhuhai is the only city on the western Pearl River Delta with natural deep-water ports.
Zhuhai has two international seaports: Jiuzhou(九州港) and Gaolan(高蘭港). Golan Port is one of the leading ports in Guangdong Province, while Jiuzhou Port focuses on enormous passenger sea transport.
Chu Kong Passenger Transport operates a ferry service between Zhuhai (Jiuzhou) and Hong Kong.
Tourism
The attractive environment and natural landscapes win Zhuhai the reputation of a garden city and a model city of best living environment. In 2002, the city attracted 1.3 million international tourists and 3.64 million domestic tourists. Following Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Zhuhai is the third city in Guangdong province earning the largest foreign exchange from international tourism, which amounted to US$ 0.5 billion in 2002.
Realizing the substantial benefits brought by tourism, the local government is restlessly improving the existing tourist spots and exploring more new tourist resources. The local government is particularly looking for new tourist spots such as Hengqin(橫琴島), Dong'ao(東澳), Hebao(荷包), Qi'ao(淇澳島) and Yeli(野狸).
Highlights
- The New Yuan Ming Palace (圓明新園) is a park of 1.39km², including a 80,000m² lake. It features a partial reconstruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, destroyed in 1860 by French and British troops during the second Opium War, and never rebuilt on its original site.
Education
Strategic development
Developing a university park is Zhuhai's strategy to strength its high-tech and IT industries. Compared with Beijing and Shanghai, Zhuhai and other cities in Guangdong province face a serious shortage of talents and professionals that will undermine Zhuhai's strategy to develop new high-tech industries. The local government takes a major initiative to set up a university park with an area of 20km², the only one in the western Pearl River Delta.
Colleges and universities
- Zhuhai College of Jinan University
- Zhuhai College of Beijing Normal University
- Zhuhai College of Zhongshan University
Sports Facilities
Zhuhai is the first city in China to have constructed a motor racing circuit. The Zhuhai International Circuit was built in 1996 and is located at Jinding, near the border to Zhongshan.
ZIC has held the BPR Global GT Endurance Series in 1996, the FIA GT Championship in 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2005.
Miscellaneous
Zhuhai's international accolades include "the Best Model of International Residential Environment Improvement" awarded by the United Nations.
Zhuhai is the Sister City of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
See also
- Hengqin, an offshore island administered by Zhuhai.
- Wanshan Qundao, 104 island archipelgo in the South China Sea
- University Park, Zhuhai
External links
- Government website of Zhuhai (available in Chinese and English)
- Zhuhai Tourism Bureau
- Expatriate Guide to Macau and Zhuhai
- Zhuhai International Circuit
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