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17 things you may not know about southern China's Greater Bay Area (GBA)

  • The "Greater Bay Area" refers to the Chinese government's scheme to link the cities of Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing into an integrated economic and business hub.
Greater Bay Area
SCMP Reporters
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1. What is the size of the GBA's capital market?

Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Macau can become Asia's largest. Learn more
Illustration: Brian Wang

2. What is the big deal about wealth management in the GBA?

It is China's capital account reforms writ small. Learn more
The border crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Photo: Bloomberg

3. What is Hong Kong’s role in the Greater Bay Area, according to China’s bank regulator?

As the Greater Bay Area becomes a model of the country’s modernisation drive, Hong Kong will play a role in developing global innovation centres of science and technology, connecting China’s domestic and international circulations and as an offshore renminbi market. Learn more
Illustration: Craig Stephens

4. What youth employment opportunities do HSBC, Deloitte and Sun Hung Kai provide in the Greater Bay Area?

HSBC says it will grant up to US$1.03 million for scholarships for Hong Kong undergraduates willing to work or study in Beijing’s development zone Learn more
Shenzhen, a key Greater Bay Area city, is only 15 minutes away from Hong Kong. Photo: Xinhua

5. Which city among the 11 in the GBA is the most competitive?

Shenzhen. Learn more
Medical workers in protective suits conduct nucleic acid test for residents, following a new outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, on June 20, 2020. Photo: Reuters

6. Why aren’t Hong Kong lawyers, who speak the same Cantonese as Guangdong, rushing to practise law in China?

A new mechanism now exists for Hong Kong lawyers trained in the common law to qualify for practice in the Greater Bay Area. Learn more
Some legal sector leaders say expanding into the Greater Bay Area will be essential for local law firms’ survival. Photo: Martin Chan

7. How does Hong Kong’s Chief Executive respond to the challenges posed by the ‘rise of Shenzhen’?

Chief executive says work nurturing ties with surging neighbour and mainland as a whole prove she cares about city’s competitiveness. Learn more
Shenzhen once relied on Hong Kong’s investors and businesses for its rise from low-end manufacturing to hi-tech powerhouse. Learn more
Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday noted the crucial role Hong Kong had to play in the government’s ambitious Greater Bay Area plan. Photo: May Tse

8. What is Guangzhou’s role in the bay area master plan?

The blueprint for the bay area sees Guangzhou as an international transport and commerce hub, as well as a centre of culinary excellence. Learn more
Eating dim sum is one of Guangzhou residents’ favourite pastimes, and an important part of the city’s history and culture. Photo: Shutterstock

9. Why is Huizhou dubbed “China’s Miami”?

Huizhou in Guangdong province is 90 minutes from Kowloon, and is being pitched as an option for elderly citizens seeking escape from Hong Kong’s hardships. Learn more
A coastal view of Huizhou in China’s southern province of Guangdong. The Greater Bay Area city is being pitched as a retirement destination for Hong Kong’s elderly citizens. Photo: SCMP Handout

10. Who are some of the big foreign investors in Huizhou?

Nameson, supplier to Uniqlo, Tommy Hilfiger. Learn more
Nameson has spent 1.6 billion yuan on its manufacturing business in Huizhou. Photo: Handout

11. The French oil company Total is going into car batteries, picking Zhuhai for a plant. Here’s why

French battery maker Saft opens energy storage plant in Zhuhai, betting on city’s future role in bay area. Learn more
French battery maker Saft launched its new energy storage facility for renewables in Zhuhai, China. Photo: SCMP Handout

12. Which city in the Greater Bay Area promises the best return on property investment?

Zhuhai’s proximity to Hong Kong and Macau should make it one of the best-performing property markets in Greater Bay Area. Learn more
Zhuhai’s property market has the best potential upside over the next 12 months, according to the Hong Kong research firm Real Estate Foresight. Photo: Shutterstock

13. Are there good schools in Jiangmen?

17 schools with 30,000 places are under construction. Learn more
Jiangmen has invested billions of dollars on opening more than a dozen new schools to satisfy demand from parents for private education. Photo: Weibo

14. Who are some of Jiangmen's famous local sons and daughters?

Cantopop star Andy Lay, casino magnate Lui Che-woo. Learn more
A scene in Pengjiang district, Jiangmen city, part of the Greater Bay Area plan in China. Photo: Shutterstock Images

15. Why did one of China’s hottest electric car makers pick Zhaoqing, the poorest city in the GBA, to build its own assembly?

Inside Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng’s factory in Zhaoqing city. Learn more

16. Who are somne of Zhongshan's famous local sons and daughters?

The founder of republican China, Sun Yat-sen. Learn more
Zhongshan is named after Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China. Photo: Handout

17. Why is Dongguan known as the work shop of the ‘world’s factory’?

Dongguan’s multinational factories from Gillette to Samsung give it an edge as a manufacturing hub for the bay area. Learn more
Dongguan’s economy is the fifth largest of the bay area’s 11 cities, worth 965 billion yuan (US$149.6 billion) in 2020. Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK
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