Pearl River Delta in China

12 March 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Casinos in Macao © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

Casinos in Macao © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. It is one of the most densely urbanized regions in the world, and is often considered a megacity. It is now the wealthiest region in South China and one of the wealthiest in the whole of China along with the Yangtze River Delta in East China and Jingjinji in North China. The region’s economy is referred to as Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. It is also part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.   read more…

Macao, Las Vegas of the East

18 December 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  19 minutes

Marina at Macau Fisherman's Wharf © Mfwmarketing/cc-by-sa-4.0

Marina at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf © Mfwmarketing/cc-by-sa-4.0

Macau, also spelled Macao and officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, is a city and special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a population of about 650,000 and an area of 32.9 km² (12.7 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world. Macau is a former colony of the Portuguese Empire, after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557. Portugal paid an annual rent and administered the territory under Chinese sovereignty until 1887, when it gained perpetual colonial rights in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until 1999, when it was transferred to China. Macau is a special administrative region of China, which maintains separate governing and economic systems from those of mainland China under the principle of “one country, two systems“. Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands, the territory has become a major resort city and a top destination for gambling tourism, with a gambling industry seven times larger than that of Las Vegas. The territory is highly urbanised and most development is built on reclaimed land; two-thirds of the total land area is reclaimed from the sea.   read more…

Theme Week China – Foshan

24 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Downtown of Guicheng © Lindley/cc-by-sa-3.0

Downtown of Guicheng © Lindley/cc-by-sa-3.0

Foshan, formerly romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers 3,848.49 km² (1,485.91 sq mi) and has an urban population around 7.1 million. It forms part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, which includes Guangzhou to the east and northeast and Zhongshan to the southeast. Foshan is regarded as the home of the Cantonese versions of Chinese opera, kung fu and lion dance. Foshan lies on the Fen River in the estuaries making up the west side of the Pearl River Delta. Guangzhou lies 25 kilometers (16 mi) to the northeast, Zhongshan to the southeast, Jiangmen to the south, Qingyuan to the west, and Zhaoqing to the west.   read more…

Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge in China

1 April 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, House of the Month Reading Time:  13 minutes

© Kellykaneshiro/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Kellykaneshiro/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest fixed link on earth. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai—three major cities on the Pearl River Delta. The HZMB was designed to last for 120 years and built with a cost of 126.9 billion yuan (US$ 18.77 billion). The cost of constructing the Main Bridge was estimated at 51.1 billion yuan (US$ 7.56 billion) funded by bank loans and shared among the governments of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Originally set to be opened to traffic in late 2016, the structure was completed on 6 February 2018< and journalists were subsequently given rides over the bridge. On 24 October 2018, the HZMB was opened to the public.   read more…

Zhuhai in South China

29 May 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

Xianglu Bay © Shasha Zhuhai/cc-by-sa-4.0

Xianglu Bay © Shasha Zhuhai/cc-by-sa-4.0

Zhuhai (literally: “Pearl Sea”) is a prefecture-level city on the southern coast of Guangdong province in 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. Zhuhai is also 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 Province, a significant portion of population is now made up of Mandarin speaking economic migrants from inland Chinese provinces. The northern area of the city, the Xiangzhou district, is now part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen built-up area, the biggest built-up area in the world with more than 44,478,513 inhabitants at the 2010 census encompassing the whole Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Macao cities, 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.   read more…

The city of Hong Kong

27 June 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  44 minutes

© Mbaeckmann / Thomas doerfer

© Mbaeckmann / Thomas doerfer

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People’s Republic of China, the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China’s south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong’s population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong’s Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.   read more…

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