Zhuhai Impressions

3 min read

Zhuhai-literally “a sea of pearls”in Chinese-is a city situated at the southern tip of China across a narrow river from neighboring Macao. Transformed by designation as a Special Economic Zone in 1980, this growing, modern city is well-known for recently established universities, golf resorts terrific infrastructure, theme parks, and islands off the Pearl River Delta. But this description does little to portray the real charm and true nature of the area. Recently, a friend shared this much more human description:Zhuhai is like quiet friend who is not pretentious and does not have a self-inflating ego. Zhuhai loves books and knows how to live and is certainly not the kind of aggressive moneymaker you meet in many other cities. Residents of this city seem to have a different temperament. After deciding to settle down and make Zhuhai their home, they blatantly pursue a peaceful and comfortable lifestyle, rather than simply a hefty bank account.

It is an open secret that more and more people-and not merely retirees-have been attracted by the city’s high quality of life. The current population has gone beyond 1.89 million, which makes Zhuhai no longer small-sized border town but a developing, modern city. In a way, Zhuhai and Macao can well be seen as twin cities parallel to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. But here the uniqueness of Zhuhai shines through in the way that it provides a leisurely pace and a general sense of wellbeing. Zhuhai is a port city with unrivalled oceanic scenery where the Pearl River flows into the sea. One of the city’s major scenic attractions is a north-south shoreline highway lined with palm, banyan and other tropical trees. Appropriately called “Love Promenade”, it seems earmarked for leisurely strolling. One can hear the sound of waves beating on the beaches. The quiet romantic atmosphere makes a sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of other port cities nearby.

Zhuhai, the modern and burgeoning city, has yet to define its identity. Will it become another trade center for loading and unloading goods, or a vacation resort with its golf courses and theme parks, or something else? Though a small township in old times, Zhuhai was one of the earliest ports to be exposed to Western influence. The greater Zhuhai area can claim both Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Republican Revolution(who was born in a village nearby) and Yung Wing, the first Chinese to graduate from an American university, as its native sons. History has also left its dark traces.

At the present moment, however, Zhuhai is poised for a grand plan: the development of the Greater Bay Area. It is one of the nine cities in the Chinese mainland that form the central nexus to be linked by super highways and the recently opened Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which will inevitably speed up the city’s economic development.

For a city that prides itself on its scenic beauty and the quality of life, its future development offers both an opportunity and a challenge. Let’s hope that this “pearl in the sea” will continue to be blessed by its good location, good people, and good values.