Useful Info --- China, GD & PRD

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China

About China

China has one of the world's oldest history and continuous civilizations, consisting of states and cultures dating back more than six millennia. It has the world's longest continuously used written language system, and is the source of many major inventions, such as what the British scholar and biochemist Joseph Needham called the “four great inventions of Ancient China": paper, the compass, gunpowder and printing. Historically, China's cultural sphere has extended across East Asia as a whole, with Chinese religion, customs, and writing systems being adopted to varying degrees by its neighbors Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Economy of China

China has the second largest economy in the world with a GDP of over $6.9 trillion (2007) when measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. In November 2007, it became the third largest in the world after the US and Japan with a nominal GDP of US $3.42 trillion (2007) when measured in exchange-rate terms. Since free market reforms in 1978 China's GDP has grown at an average 9.9 percent a year. China's per capita income has grown at an average annual rate of more than 8% over the last three decades, drastically reducing poverty, but this rapid growth has been accompanied by rising income inequalities. The country's per capita income is classified as low by world standards, at about $2,000 (nominal, 107th of 179 countries/economies), and $7,800 (PPP, 82nd of 179 countries/economies) in 2006, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the southern coast of China. The provincial capital, Guangzhou and its economic hub Shenzhen are among the most populous and important cities in China.

Guangdong is the country's richest province with the highest total GDP among all provinces. Its nominal GDP for 2003 was US$165 billion, increased to US$265 billion in 2005 (about the same size as Denmark). In 2006 that number increased to US$329.07 billion and by 2007 its GDP has grown another 14.5% to reach 3.06 trillion yuan (US$422 billion). Guangdong contributes approximately 12.5% of national economic output. Guangdong also hosts the largest Import and Export Fair in China called the Canton Fair which is hosted by the city of Guangzhou - Guangdong's capital city.

Pearl River Delta

		The Pearl River Delta Region (PRD) in South China has become one of the leading economic regions in China.

		Just a step from Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta is the perfect place to start exploring some of China's most famous and exciting cities

		The Pearl River, in China's sub-tropical south, connects three of the Far East's most exciting destinations - Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province (formerly Canton).

		The PRD covers nine prefectures of Guangdong Province, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Foshan, Huizhou (only include Zhaoqing City, Gaoyao and Sihui), HongKong and Macau.

		Geographically and geologically speaking, Macau and Hong Kong are not part of the PRD; however economically and culturally they are considered part of the PRD.

		Since China's opening to the outside world, the economy in the Pearl (Zhujiang) River Delta (PRD) has been double digit growth. It has been known as one of mature fast growth areas in the world and become the model and the hope of China's reform and opening to outside world. The regional development in PRD is the outcome of polarization effects, which are the actual extension of international regional division and a combination of Hongkong’s influence and reform and open-door policies in the mainland. Since the 1990s, driven by knowledge-based economy, the PRD has further adjusted the industrial structure and achieved good progress in upgrading the industrial structures. Its high technology industry has developed quickly and the economic internationalization has deepened, meanwhile, the region is going through transformation and some new trends have begun to appear, including the rise of university towns, industrial globalization and the construction of Hi-tech development zones.