Now in its third year, Guangdong's "High-Quality Development Project for Counties, Towns, and Villages" is narrowing the urban-rural gap across the province.
In Zhuhai, the initiative is driving renewed focus on the city's western districts, island areas, and village-level development, where pilot projects—from low-altitude air routes to whole-village governance models—are helping to strengthen coordinated regional growth.
1. Tech and Innovation Boost Growth
Zhuhai is strengthening its industrial base through technology. It has set up three research hubs—focused on embodied intelligence, RISC-V, and AI—and offers computing and AI model subsidies to attract firms. The low-altitude economy, including helicopter and drone cargo routes, has grown quickly, helping industrial output rise 20.7% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025.
Cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao has deepened. With ByteDance and Xiaohongshu establishing international headquarters in Hengqin, Zhuhai is utilizing the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge as a trade corridor. A cross-border e-commerce logistics network is taking shape, helping the city evolve from a transit stop to a regional hub.
2. Town Improvements Enhance Integration
All 11 of Zhuhai's towns have been designated provincial-level model towns, achieving the highest coverage rate in the province. Ten were listed among China's top 500 town-level economies, with Hengqin, Tangjiawan, and Nanshui in the top 50.
Key transport projects, such as the Zhuhai-Zhaoqing High-Speed Railway and the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao Line, are improving urban-rural links. About 90,000 new public school seats have been added in the past three years. The city was also recognized as a national model for healthy urban development, with over 130,000 new urban jobs created.
Green space has expanded through ecological efforts. Zhuhai leads the province in park accessibility. Over 610,000 trees have been planted in rural areas since 2023, and more than 13,178 acres of forest have been improved.
3. Whole-Village Approach Lifts Rural Economy
A three-tier system (district-town-village) manages idle rural housing, with 105 trustee centers operating across Zhuhai. This model has revitalized more than 2,000 vacant homes, raising villagers' incomes by over 18 million yuan this year.
The city aims to upgrade 9,300 rural homes over three years, including 4,200 in 2025. On the industrial side, Zhuhai is building a 10-billion-yuan sea bass farming zone in Baijiao and a billion-yuan eel aquaculture belt in Qianwu, alongside its first unmanned agricultural processing base.
In Doumen District, multi-household apartment projects ease land shortages. A digital finance platform supports collective economic projects through cross-village partnerships, bringing new funding to the countryside.
Author: Feng Huiting
Photo: Nanfang Plus
Editor: Liu Lingzhi, James Campion, Shen He
