Zhongshan, Guangdong province

The city of Zhongshan [Photo/VCG]

Major social and economic indicators (2018)

Area: 1,784 sq km
Population: 3,260,000
Gross domestic product (GDP): 363.27 billion yuan ($54.2 billion)
GDP per capita: 110,585 yuan
Value of total merchandise trade: 234.19 billion yuan
Value of export: 180.20 billion yuan
Value of import: 53.99 billion yuan
Industrial structure (% of GDP):
Primary industry (agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery): 1.7% of GDP
Secondary Industry (industrial and construction): 49% of GDP
Tertiary industry (service industry): 49.3% of GDP
Port cargo throughput: 119.65 million tons
Passenger throughput:
Visitors received: 14.12 million passenger trips

Note: the above figures are provided by relevant Guangdong provincial and municipal government departments.  

Industries

Zhongshan is located in the south-central part of the Pearl River Delta, connecting with Guangzhou to the north, and is close to Hong Kong and Macao. It is a key traffic hub on the west bank of the Pearl River.

The city is a base for advanced manufacturing and modern service industries, as well as a pilot city for industrial upgrading in Guangdong province. The industrial clusters in Zhongshan are home to key industries including equipment manufacturing, household appliances, textiles and garments, electronics, lighting, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, furniture, small home appliances, and hardware products, and emerging industries such as modern service industry and the yacht industry.

The port-area equipment manufacturing base houses many large-scale state-owned enterprises, such as China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, China Railway Group Limited, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and Sinoconst Steel Structure Co. The only bonded logistics center on the west bank of the Pearl River Estuary is located in Zhongshan.

Transport

Due to the advantages of its geographical location, passengers can reach any city in the Pearl River Delta in less than two hours by long-haul bus and shuttle bus, including Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai.

Zhongshan Railway Station has opened high-speed rail services to dozens of large and medium-sized cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Guiyang, Nanning, Zhengzhou, Kunming, Changsha, and more.

The highway under construction has a mileage of 215 kilometers and is going to connect with Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and other cities of the Pearl River Delta.

The construction of the new passenger terminal of Zhongshan Port has begun, and the waterway passenger route from Zhongshan to Shenzhen Airport has opened.

Major development areas

National level: Zhongshan Torch High-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Provincial level: Zhongshan Industrial Park

Role in the Greater Bay Area

According to the development plan of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Zhongshan is positioned as one of the seven key node cities of the area. It is expected to: fully leverage its strength, deepen reform and innovation, enhance its composite strength, and develop itself into a city with distinct characteristics, complementary positioning and strong competitiveness, to enhance coordination in development, strengthen interaction and cooperation with the core cities, drive the development of towns nearby with distinct characteristics, and jointly raise the development quality of the city cluster.

Key words for Zhongshan in the Greater Bay Area

Cooperation platform:

To promote in-depth cooperation between Macao and Zhongshan in economic, social, and cultural aspects, and expand the scope of reasonably diversified economic development in Macao.

Entrepreneurship & employment:

Push forward the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao youth innovation and entrepreneurial cooperation platform in Zhongshan.

Health care:

Support Zhongshan in pushing innovation in biomedical technologies.

Information about industry is courtesy of bayarea.gov.hk.