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Guangzhou: The Road to Regaining Its Central City Status

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Development and Planning in Seven Major Coastal Cities in Southern and Eastern China

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Abstract

The chapter first reviews the recognized central city status of Guangzhou in economic, social and political aspects. This history-long status, however, has been challenged and replaced by Hong Kong and Shenzhen in the twentieth century. Guangzhou is fighting back. The chapter then analyzes the course of Guangzhou’s recent development in regaining the central city status by studying latest socio-economic, urban and regional development plans. Attention is paid not only to coordination in development among various districts in Guangzhou, but also to the interactions between Guangzhou and other PRD cities, Hong Kong and ASEAN economies. The study reveals the major shifts from direct competition to coordinated intracity and regional development of Guangzhou, reflecting the city government’s changing ideology, approach and strategies in urban and regional development. Finally, by adopting the 3D economic geography model proposed by the World Bank, i.e. density , distance and division , the chapter comments on how these plans can help achieve the goal of central city status, and recommends the direction for future development.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For details of the Canton Fair, please refer to http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/about/detail.aspx?oid=130.

  2. 2.

    For details, please refer to http://www.getdd.gov.cn/web/html/area/kfqz/article/1227583916734.html. The dismissed Luogang District includes the main northern part and small southern tip of the current Huangpu District.

  3. 3.

    For details, please refer to http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2006-04/19/content_571704.htm.

  4. 4.

    Table 2.2 is arranged in three spatial groupings. It is crystal clear that the central PRD (led by Guangzhou) dominates in GDP, population, and total investment in fixed assets, while the east PRD (led by Shenzhen) leads in GOVI, exports and utilized FDI.

  5. 5.

    For details, please refer to the homepage of Hong Kong International Airport, http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/business/about-the-airport/a5forum.html.

  6. 6.

    For example, Guangzhou’s GDP was RMB 249.27 billion and RMB 1542.01 billion in 2000 and 2013, while the corresponding GDP of Hong Kong was HK$ 1317.65 billion and HK$ 2138.66 billion, i.e., about RMB 1399.08 billion and RMB 1707.51 billion (CSD 2015; Guangzhou Municipal Statistics Bureau 2014). The gap in GDP between the two cities shrank from RMB 1149.81 billion to RMB 165.50 billion. This gap is further down to RMB 116.18 billion in 2014 and some people believe that Guangzhou’s GDP will surpass Hong Kong's GDP in a few years’ time.

  7. 7.

    Guangzhou’s three pillar industries are not exactly the same as those of Guangdong. In Guangzhou, they are car manufacturing, petrochemicals, and electronic appliance manufacturing, while in Guangdong they are car manufacturing, petrochemicals, and electronic information.

  8. 8.

    A series of speeches by former Premier Wen Jiabao in 2008 and 2009 reflected his concern toward the rigorous enforcement of the tenglong huanniao strategy that led to the dissatisfaction and unrest of many involved enterprises.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong

    Jianfa Shen

  2. Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong

    Gordon Kee

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  1. Jianfa Shen
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Correspondence to Jianfa Shen .

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Shen, J., Kee, G. (2017). Guangzhou: The Road to Regaining Its Central City Status. In: Development and Planning in Seven Major Coastal Cities in Southern and Eastern China. GeoJournal Library, vol 120. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46421-3_2

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