Zhuhai waterfront
Zhuhai Campus of Zhongshan University
'Zhuhai' (; lit. "Pearl Sea") is a
prefecture-level city on the southern coast of
Guangdong province in the
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. Zhuhai was one of the original
Special Economic Zones established in the 1980s.
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 became 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 became 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 Shenzhen 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,
Siemens,
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 software,
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-tech 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
Gongbei gate between Macau & Zhuhai
Air
Zhuhai International Airport 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). Gaolan 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's
Jiuzhou Port and
Hong Kong. A service between
Jiuzhou Port and
Hong Kong International Airport for air passengers using the airport began on
10 July 2007 [1].
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 1.39 km², including an 80,000 m² 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 20 km², 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
Beijing Institute of Technology
★ Zhuhai Campus of
Sun Yat-Sen University
★ Zhuhai College of
Jilin University
★
Beijing Normal University-
Hong Kong Baptist University United International College
A number of other colleges and universities are also located in or near Zhuhai.
The Zhuhai College of Beijing Normal University referred to above (officially named Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus) was created as a new model of university in China and comprises a number of independent colleges. The
entrance mark required (558 in 2006) is lower than that of Beijing Normal University (Beijing) and the degree awarded is not of the same status.
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. It will host the championship's 2007 opening round on 24th and
25th March.
ZIC will being hosting a round of the
Champ Car World Series on
20 May 2007.
Residential environment
Zhuhai's international accolades include "the Best Model of International Residential Environment Improvement" awarded by the
United Nations.
Sister city
Zhuhai is a
Sister city of
Surrey, British Columbia,
Canada and Redwood City, California.
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 Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai
★
Zhuhai International Circuit
★
Wikitravel Zhuhai Guide
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SMTSKY ELETRONICS LIMITED
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