Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China

🇨🇳 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, on the south-eastern edge of Pearl River Delta. Its name literally means "pearl sea", which originates from the city's location at the mouth of the Pearl River meeting the South China Sea. Zhuhai borders Jiangmen to the west, Zhongshan to the north and Macau to the south-east, and shares maritime boundaries with Shenzhen and Hong Kong to the north-east 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 province 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, Xiangzhou District along with Macao, in the north-eastern portion of the administrative division, are part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, the biggest built-up area in the world with more than 65,565,622 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, encompassing Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Macau, the main part of Guangzhou, and small parts of Jiangmen and Huizhou cities but with Hong Kong not quite conurbated yet.

According to a report released in 2014 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Zhuhai is the most livable city in China.

Economy Zhuhai became a city in 1979, a year before it was designated as one of the first Special Economic Zones of China (SEZ). 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 adjacent to Macau, a capitalist trading centre 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: • Zhuhai High-Tech Industrial Development Zone As one of the four earliest Special Economic Zones (SEZs) 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 led by the 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 Zhuhai Free Trade Zone (Zhuhai FTZ) was founded in 1996 with the State Council's approval, occupying 3 km² (1.2 sq mi). 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 include electronics assembly & manufacturing, telecommunications equipment, building/construction materials, instruments & industrial equipment production, medical equipment and supplies, raw material processing, research & development, shipping/warehousing/logistics, and heavy industry. • Harbour industrial zone (provincial level) • Wanshan ocean development testing zone (provincial level)

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. • Hengqin economic development zone (provincial level) • Global printer consumables manufacturing centre Zhuhai manufactured and supplied 70% of the world's ribbons, 60% of the world's after-market 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 three county-level divisions and four special economic districts, all of which are districts.

Transport: Air • Zhuhai Jinwan Airport (IATA: ZUH, ICAO: ZGSD), formerly Zhuhai Sanzao Airport, an international airport connecting all provincial cities in Mainland China (except Xining and Lhasa) and many other major cities, hosting an annual air show and an exhibition hall, with Chinese space rockets located in Jinwan District. • Jiuzhou Airport  (珠海九洲机场), verbally "Jiuzhou Heliport(九州直升机场)") (ICAO: ZGUH), is located in Xiangzhou district, near the Jiuzhou harbour, and has short plane runway and a helipad. Its place inside Jiuzhou inner district, permits quick transport of injured people from surrounding islands to the city hospitals. China Southern Airlines offer sightseeing flights and charters to drilling stations in South China Sea using Sikorsky S-76 helicopters via this airport as well. They used to fly to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport from this airport using Cessna C208 Caravan as well, but the route was discontinued.

Zhuhai also is served by airports outside: • Macau International Airport (IATA: MFM, ICAO: VMMC), which is closer to the city of Zhuhai proper, than Zhuhai Jinwan Airport itself, has an "Express Link" service in which transiting passengers who go through Gongbei Port of Entry/Posto Fronteiriço das Portas do Cerco are not processed through Macau customs; passengers may also have their baggage taken from Macau Airport to Lotus Bridge in Hengqin Island. • Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH); ticketed passengers can take ferries from the Zhuhai Ferry Terminal to the HKIA Skypier. Since its inauguration in September 2018, Zhuhai residents can reach HKG via Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

Zhuhai residents may also use Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (IATA: SZX, ICAO: ZGSZ) and travel there by bus or ferry.

Transport: Rail Zhuhai Railway Station 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.

Zhuhai also has a tram network, with the first phase of Line 1 completed in 2014. In 2017, Line 1 began service to the public. The trams ceased running in January 2021 due to frequent power issues and low patronage.

The Zhuhai Metro (珠海地铁) is currently in the planning stage. Line 1 will start from Jiuzhou Port and end at the Jinwan Station, with a total length of 36.8 km; Line 2 will start from Jinding Industrial Area and end at Gongbei Port, with a total length of 30.5 km. Construction was expected to start in 2019, with an estimated time of completion in 2024.

Sea Zhuhai is known for its good climate and good air quality. Endowed with a long coastline, it is the only city on the western Pearl River Delta with natural deep-water ports.

Zhuhai has two international seaports: Jiuzhou (九洲港) and Gaolan (高栏港). 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.

Transport: Road Zhuhai is currently served by two major Chinese national expressways: G94 Pearl River Delta Ring Expressway • The G94 Pearl River Delta Ring Expressway, which will form a beltway surrounding the Guangzhou metropolitan area when completed, currently connects Zhuhai to the Sanshui District of Foshan. In 2018 the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge opened, reducing the travel time by road from Zhuhai to Hong Kong in approximately 40 minutes. G94 was extended to follow this bridge, with sections currently under construction connecting the bridge to the Zhuhai-Foshan section.

G0425 Guangzhou–Macau Expressway • A spur route of the mainline G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway, G0425 directly links Guangzhou to Zhuhai (and thus, Macau). It has a concurrency with G94 for several kilometers. 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 Port of Entry (Portas do Cerco). G0425 currently ends in Zhuhai at Zhuhai Avenue, pending an extension to the Lotus Bridge via Hengqin island.

Tourist Industry 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.

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 (横琴岛), Dong'ao (东澳), Hebao (荷包), Qi'ao (淇澳岛) and Yeli (野狸).