City Overview

Guangzhou is an important industrial base in China and a comprehensive industrial manufacturing center of South China. Through years of development the city has established itself as an export-oriented modern industrial system with a complete range of specialties, a relatively developed light industry, and a heavy industry of certain scale. It boasts comprehensive capabilities, a highly developed scientific research capability and the ability to develop new products rapidly.

Of China's 40 major categories of industrial sectors, Guangzhou has 34. Industry plays an important role in the city's contribution to the national economy. This added value accounts for more than one third of the city's GDP. Guangzhou’s main industries include auto, electronic information, petrochemical, exhibition, tourism and so on. The industrial output value of the three pillar industries--Automobile manufacturing, electronic communications and petrochemical industries--accounts for about one-third of the city's industrial output value. With the introduction of advanced technology and the upgrade of light textiles, food, medicine, building materials and other traditional industries, many new industries and high-tech industries represented by electronic communications, electrical appliances, fine chemical industries and petrochemical products are developing rapidly.

Read more here about the the best opportunities for UK businesses in Guangzhou in the UKTI report carried out by CBBC and Leeds University Opportunities for UK Businesses in China's regional cities. Please note that registration on the UK Trade & Investment portal is required.

It is hard to account the particular and total number of foreign companies in the city, but from city’s industry, we could have a look at the number of foreign industrial enterprises. In 2006, there were in total 767 Foreign Funded Industrial Enterprises, which included 242 China and Foreign Joint Venture Enterprises, 83 China and Foreign Cooperative Enterprises, 436 Enterprises with Sole Foreign Investment and 6 Share Holding Corporations.

(Resources from: Guangzhou Statistical book 2007)

Useful Links

Life of Guangzhou: www.lifeofguangzhou.com

Urbantonomy: www.urbanatomy.com

Search engine for hotels in Guangzhou: www.asiarooms.com

China Travel Guide Guangzhou: www.travelchinaguide.com

Travel Guide Guangzhou: www.world66.com

Arts & Culture

Chen Jia Ci (Chen Clan Academy or Guangdong Folk Art Museum)
The ‘Chen Family Temple’ is a late 19th century family shrine, consisting of close to 20 buildings situated around courtyards. With exhibits including sculptures, paintings, exquisite screens, tiles and textiles, it is a fascinating insight into one of the Mainland’s wealthiest historical families

Address: 34 En Long Ji Lu. Next to the Chen Jia Ci subway station. Entrance Yn10

Yue Xiu Gong Yuan (Yue Xiu Park)
Guangzhou’s largest park includes several notable attractions within its extensive boundaries. The Sculpture of the Five Rams, commemorating the mythical beings that brought prosperity to the region, was erected there in 1959. The Zhen Hai Tower, or Five Storey Pagoda, contains a variety of antiques and historical exhibits and provides some excellent views of the grounds, and is virtually all that remains of the original city walls. The park also features several lakes and small waterfalls, and plenty of stalls selling refreshments and souvenirs. It is easily reached from Yue Xiu Gong Yuan Subway Station.

Adress: 13 Jiefang Beilu.

Baiyun Shan (Baiyun Mountain)
Baiyun Shan, or the White Cloud Hills, lie about 15km northeast of Guangzhou, but are easily visited as a day trip. A cluster of around 30 peaks, they can provide quite spectacular views of the region, particularly if you’re lucky and it’s a relatively clear day. The air is invariably much fresher than in the City itself, and with its aviary, sculpture park, botanical gardens and several small and serene temples, it can make for a lovely day out.

It’s not an overly taxing hike, although there is a cable car up to the higher peaks, and minibuses which make various stops around the park grounds.

There are buses from around Renmin Gongyuan, to either the main entrance or to Baiyun bus station. Be prepared for the journey to take up to an hour.

Xinghai Concert Hall
The Xinghai Concert Hall is the best concert venue in Guangzhou. It is named after Xian Xinghai, a renowned Chinese composer, who was just born in Guangzhou.  The Hall consists of three parts, a symphony performing Hall with 1500 seats, a Chamber Music Hall and a Music Material Room. The symphony performing Hall was designed on the basis of natural sound, using reinforced concrete shell of hyperbolic paraboloids to cover the "Mountain valley-Terraced fields" seats so that the surfaces of these two parts directly form a "sound field".

Address: No. 33, Qing Bo Rd, Er Sha Island