Covering an area of 56,000 square km in the Pearl River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a city cluster composed of nine cities in Guangdong Province and two Special Administrative Regions (SAR), Hong Kong and Macao. As the fourth largest bay area after the New York Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area and Tokyo Bay Area, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of China's most industrially developed regions, producing 37 percent of the country's total exports and 12 percent of its GDP.

Envisioned as a highly integrated economic hub within which each of the cities can be reached by a commute of an hour or less, the Greater Bay Area has seen the construction of a transport network with 2,500 km of railways and 4,972 km of expressways. The region has also set up a series of checkpoints that offer a one-stop customs clearance experience, thereby enabling a faster transit between the mainland and the two SARs.

Three cooperation zones—Hengqin, Qianhai and Nansha—have also been established in the Greater Bay Area to improve the interconnectedness of its different parts. Situated in the south of Zhuhai City, the island of Hengqin is a major gateway for trade between Macao and the mainland. Located on the west coast of the thriving metropolis of Shenzhen, Qianhai serves as a springboard to and from Hong Kong and a premier legal services hub that allows Hong Kong lawyers easier access to the mainland. Nansha, the geographical center of the Greater Bay Area, aims to become an innovation powerhouse where hi-tech industries are clustered.

(Outlook Weekly, July 3)