The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, commonly referred to as the Greater Bay Area (GBA), is a

megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough ...

, consisting of nine cities and two special administrative regions in

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

. It is envisioned by Chinese government planners as an integrated economic area aimed at taking a leading role globally by 2035. It is the largest and most populated urban area in the world. The GBA—with a total population of approximately 86 million people—includes nine mega cities of

Guangdong province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

Zhuhai Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...

Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...

Dongguan Dongguan,; pinyin: alternately romanized via Cantonese as Tungkun, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou t ...

Zhongshan Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...

Jiangmen Jiangmen ( zh, c=江门), postal map romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized in Cantonese as Kongmoon, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong provinces of China, Province in southern China. It consists of three urban distri ...

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...

, and

Zhaoqing Zhaoqing ( zh, c=肇庆), alternately romanized as Shiuhing, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,113,594, with 1,553,109 living in the built-up (or metro) area made of Duanz ...

as well as two special administrative regions,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, and

Macao Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...

(Macau). Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have been described among the world's 50 "superstar cities". Surrounding the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, ...

with a total area of 56,000 km² (comparable in size to

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

), it is the largest and the richest economic region in

. The GBA's combined regional

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...

was RMB¥13 trillion (US$1.8 trillion) in 2022, which was equivalent to over 10 percent of GDP for all of China. As one of China's most vibrant and important regions, the GBA has the highest concentration of

Fortune 500 companies The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along w ...

in the country and houses a majority of China's most innovative technology companies, such as

Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...

ZTE ZTE Corporation is a Chinese partially state-owned technology company that specializes in telecommunication. Founded in 1985, ZTE is listed on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. ZTE's core business is wireless, exchange, opti ...

, DJI, BYD,

GAC Group Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong. , it was the fifth largest automobile manufacturer in China, with 2.144 million sales in 2021. The com ...

, and

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...

(parent company of

WeChat WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...

). GBA has a rich ecosystem of startups, incubators, and accelerators in the fields of agile tech, biotech, medical tech, and

innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a n ...

. For these reasons, many experts consider the region an emerging

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

of Asia. Given traditional divisions between the provincial and municipal governments and business elites, there are some opinions that the ambitious idea behind the GBA might be difficult to implement.

Definition

The "Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area" is sometimes confused with the area of the

, which is a term coined in 1947 referring to a smaller area. In the early 2000s, Chinese scholars began using the term “Greater Pearl River Delta” (GPRD) which described the 9 + 2 city agglomeration that encompassed post-handover Hong Kong and Macao, conceptualized as a series of lesser cities as industrial nodes with specialist functions clustering around two prominent cores – Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In 2003, the province advocated the idea of “Pan-PRD” as an even more extensive regional construct that comprised nine neighboring provinces to promote economic cooperation. A somewhat similar idea is later mentioned in the English version of China's 13th Five-Year Plan, taking the Pearl River Delta and including the larger province of Guangdong. On 1 July 2017, the "Framework Agreement on Deepening Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Cooperation in the Development of the Bay Area" () was signed in

History

The Greater Bay Area has been influenced by its coastal location for centuries. The first known ships from the area are believed to have been constructed by the people of the Nanyue Kingdom (204–112 BCE), who employed them for cultural and economic exchanges with countries as far as present-day Vietnam. After the takeover of the Han Dynasty, trading relations expanded beyond to reach Sri Lanka. During the subsequent period of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

, these trade routes were consolidated. Trade and cultural exchanges grew. Among this, the port of Guangzhou played a major role for the region's trade and cultural exchanges for over two thousand years. Established under the Kingdom of Wu during the period of the Three Kingdoms (222–280 CE), it eventually grew to become the starting point of the ancient maritime silk road during the

Eastern Jin Dynasty Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

(317–420 CE). By the fourth century CE, communities of foreign merchants began establishing themselves in the city. Since the first foreign merchants have established themselves in Guangdong, the whole GBA region's importance for global trade has only increased. When Macao became a Portuguese

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

in the mid-1550s, it represented one of the first trading ports in the Far East. It was later joined by Guangzhou, whose port was the only one remaining open for foreign trade during the closure of the country under the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. The

Opium Wars The Opium Wars () were two conflicts waged between China and Western powers during the mid-19th century. The First Opium War was fought from 1839 to 1842 between China and Britain. It was triggered by the Chinese government's campaign to ...

brought Hong Kong under British control and forced the opening of other ports in the region. While their respective economic importance was subject to fluctuations later on, the establishment of special economic zones should begin to drive their economic importance anew.

, the provincial capital of

, attracted the first U.S. investments such as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

in 1990s and to date is the most concentrated area of

U.S The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

.-financed enterprises which have invested in

southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...

. On 18 February 2019, the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area was adopted. The ambitious goal foresees a linkage of the nine cities in Guangdong province's

and

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

into an integrated economy and world-class business hub. In addition, it is expected to play a key role in

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...

by connecting southern China with the countries along the

21st Century Maritime Silk Road The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (), commonly just Maritime Silk Road (MSR), is the sea route part of the Belt and Road Initiative which is a Chinese strategic initiative to increase investment and foster collaboration across the historic Silk ...

Geography

The GBA is located in the southern coastal area of China, consisting of nine cities, or around 30% of the land mass, of the province of Guangdong, plus the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao. Its climate ranges from humid

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of or higher in the coolest month, featuring hot te ...

in the far south. There are a few

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

s collectively called the Nanling as well as a few inactive

volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

Leizhou Peninsula The Leizhou Peninsula, alternately romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong province in South China. As of 2015, the population of the peninsula was 5,694,245. The largest city by population and ...

. Mountain ranges and peninsulas shape the GBA. The province of Guangdong, for instance, possesses a coastline of due to the multiplicity of islands, bays and peninsulas. This multiplicity of small islands results from the

, which is the convergent point of the East, North and West Rivers. The network of bays and rivers has contributed to the archipelagic nature of many cities within the GBA. The cities of Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Hong Kong, and Macao for instance "each possess constituent and distinctly islanded territorial niches that are focused on particular industrial areas." The entire area has temperate springs (March to May), hot and wet summers (June to August), clear and cool autumns (September to November), and mild, rainy winters (December to February). The annual average temperature of Guangdong Province is around , with the average temperature of in January and in July. However, the highest temperature in summer goes more than and the lowest can be lower than . Temperatures in Hong Kong and Macao are nearly the same, with the annual average temperature around , a little higher due to their location more to the south and closer to the equator. GBA receives abundant amount of precipitation throughout the year. In 2019, GBA has a total population of approximately 86.17 million people (5% of China's total population). The population is expected to reach 100 million people by 2030.

Demographics

Languages

The

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

(MOE) held a press conference on June 2, 2021, to disclose the "Report on the Language Life Situation in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area (2021)". The report, which was compiled by the National Language Service and Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area Language Research Center under the auspices of the

State Language Commission The State Language Commission (SLC) is the official language regulator of China, managed by the Ministry of Education. It is mainly responsible for the standardization of national languages, and for implementing the policies and laws of the State ...

, together with a team from

Guangzhou University Guangzhou University (GU; ) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. Guangzhou University is currently one of the 13 high-level universities in Guangdong Province. Guangzhou University was established in 2000 through the m ...

, summarizes the state of language life in the region, and proposes recommendations for the construction of the language and writing environment and language services on the basis of the report.

Economy

The Greater Bay Area is a critical export hub, accounting for 37% of China's

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

s, driven by the large

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

s and

railway stations A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such a ...

of a well-connected transportation system. GBA hosts three of the world's top ten container ports and five international airports in

and

. These airports account for an air freight traffic bigger than

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

combined. The GBA is an economic powerhouse. Its combined regional GDP was RMB¥13 trillion (US$1.8 trillion) in 2022, which is equivalent to over 10 percent of GDP for all of China. If the GBA were its own country, it would rank as the 12th biggest economy globally (almost equal to South Korea's and bigger than Australia's economy). GDP growth of GBA was 4.4 per cent in 2019, and GDP is expected to reach US$4 trillion by 2030, which would lead the GBA's GDP to overtake that of Germany in 2019. The GBA maintains a strong industrial base that underpins its economic development. Its economy is driven by a range of traditional and advanced manufacturing sectors, including wood and plastics processing, textiles, electronics, food production, construction, automotive and aerospace industries, medical technology, and information technology, including software and hardware development. The Outline Development Plan aims to establish industrial clusters focused on advanced equipment manufacturing in

and

, and high-end manufacturing in

and

, building on the region's existing manufacturing base. The region has a diverse economic outlook with industrial development zones in all eleven cities, covering emerging industries, R&D and high-end sectors, notably the Internet of Things (IoT),

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

hydrogen technologies Hydrogen technologies are technologies that relate to the production and use of hydrogen as a part hydrogen economy. Hydrogen technologies are applicable for many uses. Some hydrogen technologies are carbon neutral and could have a role in pre ...

, new mobility, and

cleantech Clean technology, also called cleantech or climate tech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental prote ...

. Healthcare is another rapidly growing sector in the Greater Bay Area. The Guangzhou International Bio-Technology Island (formerly known as Dove Island) located in Huangpu district,

is a

biotech Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...

industrial zone in the region. Seeking to attract foreign investors, the government published ''Opinions Concerning Financial Support for the Establishment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area'' in 2020, which envisaged gradual financial liberalization. The

People's Bank of China The People's Bank of China (officially PBC and unofficially PBOC) is the central bank of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for carrying out monetary policy as determined by the ''PRC People's Bank Law'' and the ''PRC Commercia ...

has introduced new measures aimed at liberalizing China's controls on

foreign exchange The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. By trading volume, it i ...

and foreign currency

remittance A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes ...

. 22 companies from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) make their mark on the 2024 Fortune Global 500 list, including 17 from Guangdong and 5 from Hong Kong.

Outline Development Plan

The ''Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area'', released by the Chinese central government in February 2019, outlines the integration of nine cities in Guangdong's

with

and

into a unified economic region. The plan sets milestones aimed at establishing the Greater Bay Area as a globally competitive business hub by 2022, with further development into an international first-class bay area by 2035, emphasizing reform, innovation, connectivity, and environmental sustainability. The plan includes major infrastructure initiatives such as the development of an international airport cluster, inter-city high-speed rail, and expressways, including the construction of two new bridges across the Pearl River Delta. In response to environmental concerns, the plan also emphasizes ecological conservation and the promotion of green and

low-carbon A low-carbon economy (LCE) is an economy which absorbs as much greenhouse gas as it emits. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century. There are many proven ...

development models. The overarching goal is to transform the GBA into a service-oriented economy. The GBA development strategy assigns specific roles to its four core cities based on their comparative advantages: Hong Kong will focus on enhancing its status as an international financial and logistics hub; Macau will develop as a center for tourism, leisure, cultural exchange, and trade with

Portuguese-speaking countries The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (; : CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth or Lusophone Community (), is an international organization and political organisation, political association of Lusophone nations across four co ...

; Guangzhou will serve as a commercial, transportation, and educational center; and Shenzhen will prioritize innovation. Collectively, these specializations aim to transform the GBA into a globally competitive city cluster. The plan also supports the Hong Kong's development as a global offshore renminbi center, an international asset and risk management hub, and a regional center for legal and dispute resolution services.

Urbanization

With the rising economic importance, the GBA also underwent unprecedented urban growth over the past three decades. The total urban areas have expanded from in 1986 to in 2017 (approximately 13 times), at an 8.28% average annual growth rate. The area faces several challenges in implementing urban development solutions, including worsening air pollution, limited cross-border mobility, and constraints on the capital flow, information, and data. A study by Wang et al. projected that urbanization and climate change will lead to an 8.87% increase in the exposure duration of dangerous discomfort (

Humidex The humidex (short for humidity index) is an index number used by Canadian meteorologists to describe how hot the weather feels to the average person, by combining the effect of heat and humidity. The term ''humidex'' was coined in 1965. The humid ...

equal to/above 45) for GBA residents by 2030.

Healthcare industry

The Greater Bay Area is a leading hub for medical device production and innovation in China. In 2019, the region's medical device industry generated an output value of US$18.51 billion, representing 16.67% of the national total—the highest among all regions. It hosts several innovation platforms, including high-performance medical device centers, which support industrial development. Under the National Medical Products Administration's "Special Approval Procedure for Innovative Medical Devices", launched in 2014, 44 out of 265 approved innovative medical devices as of June 2020 originated from companies in the Greater Bay Area, accounting for 19% of selected domestic products.

GBA Development of the International Center for Innovation and Technology (“I&T”)

The Government is stepping up its efforts to develop innovation and technology in eight major areas, including: increasing resources for research and development (R&D); pooling scientific and technological talents; providing investment funds; providing scientific research infrastructure; reviewing existing laws and regulations; opening up government data; strengthening procurement arrangements; and enhancing science education. To date, the Government has invested over $100 billion.

Education

GBA is home to numerous

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

with

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

s and academic centres. The university town located on the Xiaoguwei Island in

is considered as one of the “ten cores” of the “Science and Technology Innovation Corridor (STIC)”-blueprint for “China's Silicon Valley”. Numerous highly rated medical schools operate in the region, including the First Affiliated Hospital of

Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen University (; SYSU) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education, SASTIND, and Guangdong Provincial Government. The university is p ...

, a leading hospital with over 3,000 beds. Several world leaders in translational medicine are based in GBA, such as the lung cancer authority Professor Yi-Long Wu (vice-president of the Guangdong General Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, and a director of Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute). Overall, GBA has over 200 universities, producing many college and advanced degrees graduates — over 570,000 college students a year graduates alone in

. Within the GBA, Hong Kong hosts the highest density of top universities globally. Times Higher Education lists as the Top 5 of them the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

(ranked place 39 worldwide in 2021), the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

(ranked 56 worldwide in 2021), the

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is a public research university in Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991, it was the territory's third institution to be granted university status, and the firs ...

(ranked 56 worldwide in 2021), the

City University of Hong Kong The City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) is a public research university in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and formally established as the City University of Hong Kong in 1994 ...

(ranked 126 worldwide in 2021) and the

Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU or HKPU) is a public research university in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The university is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded in 1937 a ...

(ranked 129 worldwide in 2021). The government seeks to enhance innovation and technology collaboration. Efforts include opening Guangdong's R&D facilities to Hong Kong institutions, supporting participation in national technology programs, and promoting cross-border R&D initiatives. Key infrastructure such as the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, five Hong Kong R&D centres, the Hong Kong Science Park, Cyberport, and State Key Laboratories are involved. The policy also facilitates the exchange of talent, access to funding, and data sharing across regions, while offering immigration and administrative support to promote cross-boundary cooperation in science and technology.

Transportation

GBA is rapidly evolving into the dynamic world-class

city cluster In China, a megalopolis () is a designation by the government to promote the development of a group of cities through transportation and communication links. Conceptual history The Economist Intelligence Unit in 2012 identified 13 megalopoli ...

connected with the modern transportation network featuring Huangpu Bridge, Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-speed Railway, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZM Bridge), Nansha Bridge and Guangzhou-Shenzhen Intercity Railway. There are also massive ongoing

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

projects underway. Among them – construction of Guangzhou-Zhanjiang High-speed Railway, Gangzhou-Shenzhen Highspeed Railway and Guangzhou-Shanwei-Shantou High-speed Railway. In 2024, the completion of several infrastructure projects in the GBA region is set to improve connectivity further. The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge, a key transportation link, is expected to open, dramatically cutting travel time across the Pearl River Delta. Further step in GBA's infrastructure development is establishment of airport clusters. Five main airports –

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is an international airport on the island of Chek Lap Kok in western Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predec ...

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is an international airport serving Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The airport codes were inherited from the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (former), former Baiyun Airport, and the IATA code is de ...

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport — formerly Shenzhen Huangtian Airport — is an international airport serving the city of Shenzhen in South Central China’s Guangdong province. It is on the east bank of the Pearl River in Bao'an Di ...

Macau International Airport Macau International Airport is an international airport in the special administrative region of Macau, situated at the eastern end of Taipa island and neighbouring waters. It opened for commercial operations on 9 November 1995, during Portu ...

and

Zhuhai Jinwan Airport Zhuhai Jinwan Airport , (Named Zhuhai Sanzao Airport ( zh, s=珠海三灶机场) prior to 10 January 2013), is the primary airport serving the city of Zhuhai in China’s Guangdong province. It is located some southwest of the Zhuhai city cent ...

—as well as a group of feeder airports, will constitute a cluster that will be developed in two phases. Phase one, due for completion in 2025, will establish a Greater Bay Area airport conglomerate, with greater interaction between the facilities. Phase 2 aims to lift all the airports to a world-class level by 2035 with "safe, green, smart, human and synergetic qualities". The Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) connects to the national high-speed rail network, significantly shortening the travelling time between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, and reinforcing Hong Kong's position as a regional transportation hub. in the first six months of 2023, the Hong Kong section of the XRL recorded an average daily patronage of more than 40,000 passenger trips, with the highest number of passenger trips in a single day exceeding 90,000 passenger trips.

Bridges

* Huangpu Bridge * Nansha Bridge *

Humen Pearl River Bridge The Humen Pearl River Bridge () is a bridge over the Humen, Pearl River in Guangdong Province, southern China. It consists of two main spans — a suspension bridge section and a segmental concrete section. It connects the Nansha District of ...

* Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge *

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese surname) *Hong (Korean surname) O ...

Rail

Urban rail transit (including metros, commuter and regional railways) is expanding very fast. Hong Kong MTR was the first, and its model has subsequently been applied to other networks in the region. The total length of all cities' metro lines is now .

Metro

* Dongguan Rail Transit * Foshan Metro *

Guangzhou Metro The Guangzhou Metro ( zh, s=广州地铁, labels=no) is the rapid transit system of the city of Guangzhou in the Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be b ...

* Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway *

Macau Light Rapid Transit The Macau Light Rapid Transit (MLRT, zh, 澳門輕軌系統; , MLM) is a mass transit system in Macau and the first railway system of the city. The first phase of the project's construction began in February 2012, and the first section of the Taip ...

Shenzhen Metro The Shenzhen Metro ( zh, s=深圳地铁, c=, labels=no) is the rapid transit system for the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, China. The newest lines and extensions which opened on December 27, 2024 put the network at of trackage. It cu ...

Regional and commuter railway

* CR C-train (several sections)

Light rail and tram

* Guangzhou Trams * Hong Kong Light Rail * Hong Kong Tramways * Hong Kong Peak Tram *

Shenzhen Tram Shenzhen Tram is a light rail system consisting of two (formerly three) tram routes in Longhua District, Shenzhen, Longhua District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Construction commenced on 27 December 2013 and public testing started on 30 June 2017 ...

* Zhuhai Tram

Intercity railway

* Guangzhou–Kowloon through train *

Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link Hong Kong section The Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (sometimes abbreviated "XRL HK section") is a long stretch of high-speed rail that runs along a dedicated underground rail corridor linking Hong Kong to mainland C ...

* Guangzhou–Foshan–Zhaoqing intercity railway * Guangzhou–Shenzhen railway * Dongguan–Huizhou intercity railway * Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Jiangmen intercity railway

Air

* Foshan Shadi Airport *

Huizhou Pingtan Airport Huizhou Pingtan Airport is a dual-use military and civil airport serving the city of Huizhou in Guangdong Province, China. It is located in the town of Pingtan in Huiyang District, 20 kilometers from the city center. The military airport ser ...

Government and politics

Public administration

Starting from May 30, 2019, Hong Kong and Macao residents can use the local self-service terminal system to handle the relevant government services in

Nanhai District Nanhai District (), is a district of Foshan, Guangdong, China. Its government is the first to have developed e-government informatization at the county level in China. History Establishment of Nanhai is traditionally attributed two brothers c ...

of Foshan City. Guangdong Province has also formally proposed to introduce a credit scoring system to cover Hong Kong and Macao in the next three years, with a view to sharing credit information in the Greater Bay Area and providing credit incentives and sanctions for enterprises in the region. There are also plans to promote information sharing between the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, and to strengthen police cooperation and exchanges to deal with security threats.

Culture

Being part of the

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

as well as Chinese international marine gates and trade hotspot for the last two thousand years, GBA has rich

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

traditions, languages, and food. Among them, a distinct European ambience – the

Cantonese culture Cantonese culture, or Lingnan culture, refers to the regional Chinese culture of the region of Lingnan: twin provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, the names of which mean "eastern expanse" and "western expanse", respectively. With the migration ...

with its center in

, eastern

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

, and

. There are many notable foods in Hong Kong, the most famous of which are pineapple oil, cart noodles, egg waffles and

Hong Kong-style milk tea Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese surname) *Hong (Korean surname) O ...

. A local's day usually starts with a bowl of fish ball noodles or wonton noodles and a cup of soy milk. Notable foods in Macao are

egg tart The egg tart (; ) is a kind of custard tart found in Chinese cuisine, derived from the English custard tart and Portuguese pastel de nata. The dish consists of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard. Egg tarts are often served at di ...

s, and pork jerky. Hong Kong and Macau also has its distinct local culture, largely based on Cantonese culture, but also heavily influenced by British and Portuguese colonisation over the past two centuries. The distinct feature of

is the

Cantonese language Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic languages, Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River ...

and

Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( zh, t=廣東菜 or zh, labels=no, t=粵菜), is the cuisine of Cantonese people, associated with the Guangdong, Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guan ...

. Cantonese language is the official spoken language in

and

. In

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

and Guangxi,

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

is the official language taught in schools, but Cantonese is most frequently used in everyday life.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Transborder agglomerations Landforms of Guangdong Landforms of Hong Kong Landforms of Macau South China

Definition

History

Geography

Demographics

Languages

Economy

Outline Development Plan

Urbanization

Healthcare industry

GBA Development of the International Center for Innovation and Technology (“I&T”)

Education

Transportation

Bridges

Rail

Metro

Regional and commuter railway

Light rail and tram

Intercity railway

Air

Government and politics

Public administration

Culture

See also

Notes

References