Guangzhou is on the coast of the South China Sea and 182 kilometers away from Hong Kong, it is China's largest and most prosperous city in the south,an important seaport for foreign trade and a famous historical and cultural city over 2,000 years old. It hosts annual spring and autumn exports trade fairs. It has convenient land, water and air transport. International air routes link it to Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Sidney and Melbourne. Daily flights, trains, ships and hovercraft go beween the city and Hong Kong. Guangzhou is located within the Tropic of Cancer and has no real winter. It grows three crops of rice a year and plenty of fruits. Flowers are in bloossm all the year round, so Guangzhou is called "the City of Flowers." Visitors enjoy the beautiful sub-tropical scenery. Its spots of interest include Yuexiu Park, Guangxiao Temple, the Octagonal Flower pagoda in the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, the Dagoba at Huaishen Temple, and the Mount BaiYun Scenic Area in the city, and Zhaoqing Seven-Star Rock, Foshan Ancestral Temple and Conghua Hot Spring outside the city.

Superior Geographical Location

Guangzhou has superior geographical and regional advantages. In terms of distance, Guangzhou is located in the geometrical center of the economic circle of Southeast Asia and therefore it is equidistant from Japan and Southeast Asian countries within a flight voyage of 3 to 4 hours in general. In terms of geographical location, Guangzhou is an open coastal city neighboring Hong Kong and Macao, and the economic, political, and cultural center, and also the commercial center, which combines manufacturing, transportation, commerce, finance, information, education and human resources as a whole. It is located in the center of the Pearl River Delta, one of the most economically dynamic and flourishing areas in China. Guangzhou exerts an impact on China, East Asia and even the world with its economic capacity and radiation.

Great Blueprint

Approved by the Guangzhou Municipal Government, the Guideline for General Strategic Planning of Guangzhou City Development (Abbr. the Guideline), which depicting the blueprint of the following 20 years' ecological development of Guangzhou is now been fully implemented. Mr. Gao Dianying, deputy director of the Development Planning Commission of Guangzhou Municipality briefed the reporter on the relevant content of the Guideline. General Plan: the idea of "mountain, city, farmland and sea" 　　Guangzhou is to fulfill the development strategy of " exploitation in the south, optimization in the north, extension in the east and association in the west" in about 20 years. Emphasizing on the natural characteristics of "mountain, city, farmland and sea", Guangzhou is going to be an ecological city with optimized city layout, rationalized urban and rural structure, and enhanced industrial structure, graceful living environment, leading the other big cities in China to build up a landscape ecological city with developed productivity and solid economic strength, profound culture and perfect harmony between people and the nature. It will possess both natural and cultural landscape with a flavor of the south of the Five Ridges. Prospect of Guangzhou: a blueprint of an ecological environment ideal for business and living 　　The construction of building Guangzhou into an ecological city is divided into 3 phases, including phase I (by 2005), phase II (by 2010) and phase III (by 2020). The Guideline presents a general description of the content of building Guangzhou into an ecological city, painting a blueprint of an ecological environment, which is adapted for business and living. By 2005, a "landscape city" is to appear. The fundamental ecological planning will be finished and the basic configuration of an ecological city and its communication networks are to be shaped. Afforestation network is to be roundly established and waters are to be cleaned. The construction of the new and the old urban areas will be primarily completed. Before 2010, a garden city will be basically built up: ecological zones are to be constructed in the round, the quality of the city's ecological and living environment are to be enhanced by leaps and bounds. Numbers of horticultural plazas will be built, and with clear functional subarea, a landscape consists of ecological scenery and the architectural ensemble with the "South Ridges" flavor is coming into being. By 2020, Guangzhou as a whole will become an international ecological city with a territorially "South Ridges" flavor which combines the splendent art of the eastern and western architecture and the poetry connotation: the old city, being ecologically reconstructed, will become the most extensively afforested city in China; while the new city and the Greater Nansha will become the central of Guangzhou, for with convenient transportation, they are the new urban areas that fully embodying the meaning of landscape and garden cities.

Enhanced Infrastructure

Guangzhou is a modern logistics center, the communication hub of the sea, the land and the air of South China. Guangzhou Port ranks among the 10 largest world ports while .the Baiyun International Airport is one of three main international airports of China. The New Baiyun International Airport that is going to be completed will become the first class aviation port in Asia. The huge Guangzhou railway network consists of the Beijing-Guangzhou railway, Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway, Guangzhou-Maoming railway and Guangzhou-Meizhou-Shantou railway. Guangzhou has a rather convenient and speedy highway network. Together with the railroads, aviation and waterway, they form a comprehensive and three-dimensional transportation network. Guangzhou is quickening the construction of modernized international seaports and the construction of Xinsha and Nansha ports. The Guangzhou Port is striving for expanding its handling capacity to 3.2 million standard containers by 2005. It is one of China's three international telecommunication entry and exit bureaus, one of the three key information exchange centers of the country. Guangzhou International Conference and Exhibition Center is the largest one in Asia and ranked the second in the world. At present, Guangzhou is roundly pushing forward the infrastructure construction of a modernized central city. And every year, about 14 billion RMB is invested to rectify the transportation and environment of the city. After the completion of Guangzhou New International Airport, the largest and most modernized international pivotal airport in china with most advanced functions is to be set up. It is projected that by 2010, this airport can ensure a passenger volume of 25 million person times and a cargo volume of 1 million tons. As the second largest Exhibition Center in the world, Guangzhou International Conference and Exhibition Center is located at southeast Guangzhou's Pazhou Island. It has been completed in 2002. The main projects including the exhibition hall and international conference hall occupied an area of 700 thousand Square meters with an floorage of 500 thousand Square meters. The supporting projects occupy 600 thousand Square meters with an floorage of 400 thousand Square meters.

Well Equipped Development Zones

At present, Guangzhou possesses Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, Guangzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Guangzhou Bonded Zone, Guangzhou Export Processing Zone, Nansha Economic and technological zone and other industrial zones which situated in the counties and towns it governed. Focusing on environmental protection and sustainable development, all these industrial zones are scientifically planned with comprehensive infrastructure, supporting facilities and functions. By the end of 2002, the amount of foreign investment that attracted by Guangzhou in the past 23 years kept increasing and was at the top of China, especially in the recent 5 years, the amount reached US$ 15 billion, accounting 52% of the total investment. Foreign enterprises that garrison the zones shall enjoy state-level, provincial level and municipal level preferential policies relating hi-tech industrial development. By the end of June 2002, more than 34 foreign countries and areas have made investment in the Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. And 65 transnational corporations among the Fortune 500 settled in the same industrial zone .

Governmental Support 　　Among the numerous cities in China and even in Asia, with its unique charm and vigor, Guangzhou has long become a key spot that attracts foreign investment. The Guangzhou Municipal Government promises to set up a wholesome investment environment, an apparent policy system and supporting frame so as to ensure the benefits of the investors and promote their business to develop healthily. Our commitment is an eternal one. Anyone who invests Guangzhou is to be supported so that his/her business is to be well developed and the competence of his/her enterprise is to be enhanced.

Rich Human Resources

A comprehensive educational system with a complete set of academic subjects and disciplines, a sizable contingent of teaching staff and various modes of running schools has been formed. There are 37 general schools of higher learning, including Zhongshan University and Jinan University with about 250,000 students. More than 20 postgraduate research units with about 20,000 postgraduates; 27 institutions of higher learning for adult education with about 160,000 students; more than 200 secondary vocational and technical schools with over 210,000 students. It has also 192 independent scientific research and development institutions. The city has established a relationship of cooperation with over 200 scientific research institutes, colleges and academic bodies in more than 200 countries and regions. Guangzhou is very rich in human resource. There are academicians, doctors, masters, bachelors and lots of skilled and experienced laborers. The total number of human resources in Guangzhou has reached 1,021,400 persons. Guangzhou can fully satisfy different enterprises' demand on talents of different levels for continuously, the domestic and overseas talents are allured by its rapid development, bright prospects and excellent environment for carving out a career. Guangzhou possesses an obvious advantage of lower wage costs. The labor cost for one worker, including the costs of his wage, welfare and endowment insurance, is only 12-20 RMB for one hour, converted to about 1.5 to 2.4 US dollars. That is almost 1/10 or even 1/20 of wage costs in developed countries. Investors are to be greatly benefited in this regard.