Zhuhai is a prefecture-level city on the southern coast of 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 , all of which are
*Xiangzhou District
*Doumen District
*Jinwan District
Geography
Zhuhai borders the Macau Special Administrative Region , and 140 km southwest of Guangzhou. Its territory counts 146 islands and a coastline of 690 km.
Economy
Zhuhai became a city in 1979, a year before it was named as one of the first Special Economic Zones . 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 by which Shenzhen faces Hong Kong. This enabled the Chinese Central Government to open another "window" in front of Macau. Even though the city is situated at the southern end of the Pearl River Delta area, Zhuhai acts as one of the central cities in the Pearl River Delta according to the new general urban plan approved by the . 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 infrastructure and a deep-water port serve as a major attraction for foreign capital. 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 ExxonMobil, British Petroleum, , Carrefour and Matsushita. Hong Kong is 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
*Wanshan ocean development testing zone
*Heng Qin economic development zone
Transportation
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 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 (蛇口,）which is the Shenzhen ferry port. A service between Jiuzhou Port and Hong Kong International Airport for air passengers using the airport began on 10 July 2007.
Tourism
The attractive environment and natural landscapes bolster Zhuhai's reputation as 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 constantly improving the existing tourist spots and exploring new tourist resources. The local government is developing new tourist spots such as Hengqin , Dong'ao , Hebao , Qi'ao and Yeli .
Highlights
*The
New Yuan Ming Palace is a park of 1.39 km?, including an 80,000 m? 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.
Education
Strategic development
Developing a university park is 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, making this goal difficult. The local government is taking major initiatives to set up a university park with an area of 20 km?, 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 was created as a new model university in China and comprises a number of independent colleges. The entrance mark required is lower than that of Beijing Normal University 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 hosted the championship's 2007 opening round on 24th 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.
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
* : Redwood City, California
