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Guangdong province

2017-05-22

Guangdong province is located at the southernmost tip of mainland China. Neighboring the South China Sea, Hong Kong and Macao, it's a pioneer of China's reform and opening up, and covers an area of 17.97 million square kilometers. Guangdong has 21 prefecture-level cities (including two sub-provincial cities), and 119 county-level administrative regions (60 municipal districts, 20 county-level cities, 36 counties, and 3 autonomous counties). Up to the end of 2016, the resident population of Guangdong Province stood at 109.99 million.

As one of the earliest trade ports in Chinese history and the starting point of the famous "Maritime Silk Road", Guangdong has a long history of commerce. Since reforming and opening up for over 30 years, it took advantage of neighboring Hong Kong and Macao and seized a historical opportunity. It expanded itself further, and actively participated in international competition and cooperation. Guangdong has now become one of the most prosperous and economically dynamic regions in China. In 2016, its total GDP was 7951.21 billion yuan, ranking first in the whole country.

Guangdong has seized opportunities in global industrial transfer to promote industrial development and industrialization, and establish an integrated industrial system. At present, it has nine pillar industries, namely electronic information, electrical machinery, petrochemical, textiles and garments, food and beverage, building material, papermaking, medicine and auto industry. With the rapid growth of shipbuilding, rail transportation equipment, nuclear and wind power equipment and the aircraft industry, it has established an advanced manufacturing industrial system. Modern service industries such as logistics, exhibition, finance, information and tourism are flourishing. Canton Fair, China Hi-Tech Fair, China International SME Fair, Guangdong 21st Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo and other large international exhibitions enjoy a great reputation within and beyond.

Guangdong has the most favorable investment environment in China. With advanced infrastructure, developed traffic and communication, convenient customs clearance, a highly streamlined and integrated market system, it has fully gathered talents, capital and other production factors. Important platforms such as Guangzhou Nansha, Shenzhen Qianhai, Zhuhai Hengqin, Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City and Sino-German Industrial Service Zone have developed rapidly. The regional economic integration of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao as well as the construction of the Pearl River Delta world-class city cluster are accelerating. Twelve new areas in east, west and north Guangdong have made full preparations to provide diversified, all-round and high-level platforms for investment from multinational companies.

Guangdong is also an important home to the Lingnan Culture, and has a unique style in language, customs, living habits, history and culture. In terms of food culture, it has Cantonese cuisine, one of China's four major cuisines. Its local operas include Cantonese and Chaozhou Opera, two of the ten major local operas in China, and dialects include Cantonese and Hakka, of which it is the center, and Hokkien.