Covering less than 1% of land area, and housing less than 4% of the population of China, the nine cities of the Pearl River Delta (PRD), Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Huizhou and Zhaoqing, account for almost 10% of China's GDP, almost 20% of its foreign direct investment and 25% of trade. Previously known as the factory of Asia, the region is arguably the first large scale pilot of a hyper-connected, polycentric city region, a model believed by many to be the future of urban development. Guangzhou and Shenzhen experienced huge growth in GDP (more than 750%) since opening to Western markets in the 1980s. The recent designation of Free Trade Zones alongside the £212bn investment in 150 major infrastructure projects in the region is providing the same opportunity to the remaining seven cities as they are connected to wider markets and investments, foreign and domestic.
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