Zhuhai


Zhuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the southeastern edge of Pearl River Delta, Zhuhai borders Jiangmen to the west, Zhongshan to the north and Macau to the south, and shares maritime boundaries with Shenzhen and Hong Kong to the northeast across the estuary.
Zhuhai was one of the original four Special Economic Zones established in 1980, as well as one of China's premier tourist destinations, being called the Chinese Riviera. While the city is located in the traditionally Cantonese-speaking region of Guangdong, a significant portion of the population is now made up of Mandarin-speaking economic migrants originally from inland provinces.
The core of Zhuhai, in the northeastern portion of the administrative division, is part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, the biggest built-up area in the world with more than 44,478,513 inhabitants at the 2010 census, encompassing Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Macau, Hong Kong, the main part of Guangzhou, and small parts of Jiangmen and Huizhou cities.
According to a report released in 2014 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Zhuhai is the most livable city in China.

Geography

Zhuhai borders the Macau Special Administrative Region, and is southwest of Guangzhou. Its territory has of coastline and 217 islands of which 147 are over 500 square metres in areas.
The islands within the prefecture-level city of Zhuhai include a number of near-shore islands, often connected to the mainland by bridges or causeways, as well as some islands in the open South China Sea. Some of the latter are actually geographically closer to Hong Kong than to the Zhuhai mainland. The jurisdiction of Nei Lingding Island, located in the Pearl River estuary was transferred from Zhuhai to Shenzhen in 2009.

Climate

Zhuhai has a humid subtropical climate affected by the East Asian Monsoon and moderated by the South China Sea, with long, hot and humid summers with frequent thunderstorms, and short, mild and dry winters. Average highs in January and July are respectively. Snowfalls are unknown and a frost has never been recorded in the city centre. Conversely, extreme heat waves do not occur as they do further inland.

Economy

Zhuhai became a city in 1979, a year before it was designated as one of the first Special Economic Zones of China. Similarly to neighboring Shenzhen, which became the first Special Economic Zone of China in 1978, the implementation of Zhuhai as an SEZ was largely due to its strategic position facing Macau, a capitalist trading center similar to Shenzhen's position with Hong Kong.
The establishment of Zhuhai as an SEZ allowed the Chinese Central Government and economy to have easier access to the Macau and consequently, global market. As a result, Zhuhai is now a major city in the Pearl River Delta region according to the new general urban plan approved by the State Council. The implementation of Special Economy Zone intended for the city to become a key 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 infrastructure and a deep-water port serve as a major attraction for foreign capital. Utilized foreign investment reached US$10.344 billion in 2008. Among the top 500 enterprises worldwide, 19 of them have investment projects in Zhuhai such as ExxonMobil, BP, Siemens, Carrefour and Matsushita. Hong Kong is the largest overseas investor in Zhuhai, accounting for 22% of total utilized foreign investment in 2002.

Manufacturing industries

Industrial development in Zhuhai focuses on five 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:
As one of the four earliest Special Economic Zones in China, Zhuhai SEZ was set up in the year 1980 and granted with a local legislative right. Zhuhai hi-tech zone is located in the north of Zhuhai, which is very close to downtown. Furthermore, technological resources are centralized in our zone; there is also a huge development in hi-tech industries which is leading by software and IC industries. The hi-tech zone is the showcase for Zhuhai's scientific development. Meizu is one high tech product headquartered in Zhuhai.
Zhuhai Free Trade Zone was founded in 1996 with the State Council's approval, occupying. A Zhuhai FTZ Administrative Committee was set up in June 1997. By the end of 2006, there had been over 200 companies registered in the Free Trade Zone, including more than 150 foreign-funded enterprises, and the total investment amount was one billion US dollars. Industries encouraged in the zone includes Electronics Assembly & Manufacturing, Telecommunications Equipment, Building/Construction Materials, Instruments & Industrial Equipment Production, Medical Equipment and Supplies, Raw Material Processing, Research and Development, Shipping/Warehousing/Logistics, Heavy Industry.
The Wanshan archipelago is located in one of the major fishing areas of China and is core to the Wanshan ocean development testing zone. However, Perna viridis, a species of green mussel, was found to be contaminated by HCHs, DDTs, and PCBs.
Zhuhai manufactured and supplied 70% of the world's ribbons, 60% of the world's aftermarket inkjet cartridges and 20% of the world's third-party laser toner cartridges. Their combined sales were worth more than 1.3 billion US dollars or 10% of all the sales in the world. Zhuhai owns a comprehensive supply chain and almost any of the raw materials needed by the printer consumables industry can be provided locally.

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Zhuhai administers 3 county-level divisions and 4 special economic districts, all of which are districts.

Transportation

Airports

Zhuhai also is served by airports outside:
Zhuhai residents may also use Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport and travel there by bus or ferry.

Railway

is located at the western end of Gongbei Port of Entry and Portas do Cerco at the border of Zhuhai and Macau. There are frequent high speed trains to Guangzhou, Guilin, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and other main cities in China. The intercity railway between Zhuhai Gongbei and Zhuhai Jinwan International Airport is under construction. It is expected to be opened to Hengqin in November 2019, and the whole project will be completed in 2024. It will take only 30 minutes to commute from urban district to the airport using the completed line.
A three-line tram network is under construction, with the first phase of Line 1 completed in 2014. In 2017, Line 1 began service to the public.
Zhuhai Metro is in the planning stage. Line 1 is from Jiuzhou Port to the Jinwan Station, of a total length of 36.8 km; Line 2 from Jinding Industrial Area to the Gongbei Port, of a total length of 30.5 km. Construction is expected to start in 2019, with an estimated time of completion in 2024.

Sea

An attractive and clean environment and a good deep-port condition are the 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 and Gaolan. Gaolan Port is one of the leading ports in Guangdong province, while Jiuzhou Port focuses on heavy passenger sea transport.
Chu Kong Passenger Transport operates a ferry service between Zhuhai's Jiuzhou Port, Hong Kong and Shekou Passenger Terminal, in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen. A service between Jiuzhou Port and Hong Kong International Airport for air passengers using the airport began on 10 July 2007.

Road

Zhuhai is currently served by two major Chinese national expressways:
G94 Pearl River Delta Ring Expressway
G0425 Guangzhou–Macau Expressway
Zhuhai and the surrounding landscapes have a reputation within China of being a garden city with a high quality of life. In 2002, the city attracted 1.3 million international tourists and 3.64 million domestic tourists. Following Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Zhuhai has the third largest amount of foreign tourism in the Guangdong province, which amounted to billion in 2002.
Zhuhai hosts the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition biannually in November. It is the largest Air Show in China and a huge tourist attraction.
Realizing the benefits brought by tourism, the local government is expanding tourist destinations and is developing new spots such as Hengqin, Dong'ao, Hebao, Qi'ao and Yeli.

New Yuan Ming Palace

The New Yuan Ming Palace is a park of, including an 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, which was never rebuilt on its original site.

Coast of Xianglu Bay—Fisher Girl Statue

The coast of Xianglu Bay is considered the 'symbol' of Zhuhai, offering a scenic view of Zhuhai Delta with silt-rich water, rocks, and a beach. The famous landmark of the city, the Fisher Girl Statue, stands elegantly on a boulder in Xianglu Bay; the statue is draped by a fishnet and holds a pearl high in the air with both hands up to the sky, symbolizing a vigorous and lively Zhuhai welcoming visitors from all over the world. It was erected in 1982 by a professor from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and is 8.7 meters tall, composed of 70 pieces of granite. Visitors can view the statue up close from a boardwalk on the shore.
The statue was based on a local legend, in which the daughter of the celestial Dragon King visited the Pearl River delta. Enamored by the beauty of the Zhuhai region, she disguised herself as a fisher girl and lived among the people there, weaving baskets and healing locals with her powers until she fell in love with a fellow fisherman named Haipeng. The romance between Haipeng and the fisher girl was interrupted by vicious rumors among the people about the latter's true origins. Haipeng eventually confronted the fisher girl about this and demanded she give her magical pearl bracelets to him as proof of her love. She confirmed the rumors and explained that if she removed even one of the pearls, she would die. As Haipeng refused to believe her story and turned to leave, the fisher girl took off her bracelets, dying in Haipeng's arms. Heartbroken and guilt-ridden, Haipeng set out to find a cure, eventually discovering from a local elder that he would need to cultivate a special grass with his own blood. After years of toiling, Haipeng finally harvested enough to revive the fisher girl, turning her into a mortal. The two later married and the fisher girl found a large pearl, which she gifted to the elder in gratitude on the day of the wedding.

Education

Strategic development

Developing a university park is part of Zhuhai's strategy to strengthen its high-tech and IT industries. Compared with Beijing and Shanghai, Zhuhai and other cities in Guangdong province face a serious shortage of talent and professionals. The local government is taking significant initiatives to set up a university park with an area of .

Colleges and universities

A number of other colleges and universities are also located in or near Zhuhai. Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus was created as a new model university. Besides its high quality of education, it is more internationally oriented than many universities in China. Many students here prepare to go abroad to finish their junior and senior years.

Primary and secondary education

Despite the shortage of higher education, Zhuhai government has been paying a lot of attention to primary and secondary education. From 2007, high school students in Zhuhai needn't pay school fees anymore.
As a result, there are many famous high schools in Zhuhai. Zhuhai No.1 High School is one of the most competitive high schools in Guangdong Province, and also a member of the Guangdong "Six Schools Union".
Dulwich International High School Zhuhai, QSI International School of Zhuhai, and Zhuhai International School serve expatriates and/or use foreign educational systems.

Supplementary schools

Zhuhai Japanese Saturday School is a supplementary school for overseas Japanese in Zhuhai. It holds classes at QSI School.

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 hosted the championship's 2007 opening round on 24 and 25 March. ZIC had planned to host a round of the Champ Car World Series on 20 May 2007, but agreement was not reached. ZIC held an A1GP race in 2007 for the first time in series' history. ZIC became the first venue in China to host the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup on 7 November 2010 when the 2010 1000 km of Zhuhai was staged.
Zhuhai has also a new tennis center which hosts WTA Elite Trophy, the last tournament of the year for players that are in the top 20 but did not qualify to WTA Finals.

Notable people

Notable people

Mayors

NamesIn OfficeTime of Life
Wu JianminJanuary 1979 - June 19841921 - 2015
Liang GuangdaJune 1984 - October 19951935 -
Huang LongyunOctober 1995 - October 20001951 -
Fang XuanOctober 2000 - August 20021954 -
Wang ShunshengAugust 2002 - January 20071949 -
Zhong ShijianJanuary 2007 - October 20111956 -
He NingkaOctober 2011 - January 20151959 -
Jiang LingJanuary 2015 - January 20161964 -
VacantJanuary 2016 - May 2016N/A
Zheng RenhaoApril 2016 - March 20171968 -
Li ZezhongMarch 2017 - September 20171970 -
Yao YishengSeptember 2017 -1965 -

CPC Committee Secretaries

NamesIn OfficeTime of Life
Wu JianminJanuary 1979 - February 19841921 - 2015
Fang BaoFebruary 1984 - January 19871931 -
Liang GuangdaJanuary 1987 - September 19981935 -
Huang LongyunOctober 1998 - August 20021951 -
Fang XuanAugust 2002 - August 20051954 -
Deng WeilongAugust 2005 - March 20081950 -
Gan LinMarch 2008 - February 20121963 -
Li JiaFebruary 2012 - March 20161964 -
Guo YuanqiangMarch 2016 - January 20181965 -
Guo YonghangFebruary 2018 -1965 -

Sister Cities

See Sister cities of Zhuhai