Public relations consultant Anna Fang found herself in a dilemma about a year ago. She wanted to buy a place to live and preferably one she could later retire in.
It wasn't going to be in Hong Kong, though, because the money she was ready to spend was not going to buy her the kind of home she wanted, and she was determined to escape from the city's air-pollution.
But she needed to stay close enough to Hong Kong to be able to carry on working, and because that was where all her friends and contacts were.
The options on the mainland did not look appealing. Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Dongguan and Foshan hardly fulfilled the brief of cleaner air and a better quality of life. Then she discovered Zhongshan.
'It's really surprising how few people in Hong Kong have even heard of Zhongshan. It's only 90 minutes from Tsim Sha Tsui by direct ferry and the environment is very much like California - beautiful scenery, clean air, hills, greenery and a slower pace of life. It's been deemed a 'special ecology zone' by the mainland and received an award from the United Nations.'
Zhongshan and nearby Nanhai have been designated by the central government as the National Model City of Environmental Protection, National Garden City, National Sanitary City and National Advanced Civilised City.
Ms Fang said that although the search for her ideal home in Zhongshan was ultimately rewarding, the process of getting there was at times highly frustrating.