Ｍａｊｏｒ　Ｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃ　Ｚｏｎｅｓ　ｏｆ　Ｃｈｉｎａ.docVIP

Ｍａｊｏｒ　Ｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃ　Ｚｏｎｅｓ　ｏｆ　Ｃｈｉｎａ 　　The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone 　　 　　The delta with the lovely name and an 11,300-sq-km expanse of silt deposits was formed by the Pearl River where it empties into the South China Sea on its age-old journey through central Guangdong Province. 　　The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone is vastly different from the geographical concept of its namesake. The economic zone was proposed in 1994, to encompass nine cities in Guangdong Province: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing. This constitutes what has become known as the “Lesser Pearl River Delta.” 　　In the late 1990s, the “Greater Pearl River Delta” Economic Zone came into being, referring to the areas of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. In 2003, the “Pan-Pearl River Delta” was used to refer to the economically entangled nine provinces and autonomous regions in, or neighboring, the Pearl River Delta, namely Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangdong, as well as Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR, or its nickname,“9+2.” 　　The leading edge of China’s opening to the outside world, the Pearl River Delta relies on its adjacency to Hong Kong and Macao. As the hometown of many overseas Chinese, it has certain advantages in attracting foreign investors keen to make good on its low land prices and plentiful, low-priced workforce. A large number of manufacturers from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have shifted their operations into the zone, turning it into an export processing base. About half of the zone’s GDP can be attributed to its foreign trade. From the early years of reform and opening-up to the present, the Pearl River Delta has been one of the powerhouses of China’s economic development. The government has given enterprises in this zone preferential treatment designed to encourage the development of an export-oriented economy. 　　 　　 　　The Yangtze River Delta 　　Economic Zone 　　 　　The Yangtze River