Editor's note: Located close to the South China Sea, Guangdong province has rich and unique coastal resources. The total coastline is 4,114.3 kilometers, ranking first among the coastline of the Chinese mainland provinces. In the following week, over 100 journalists, experts, scholars, and content creators will visit 14 coastal cities in the province via the east, central, and west routes.
Along the central route, journalists and content creators from the Republic of Korea, Italy, the Middle East, South America, and China's Hong Kong and Macao will visit five coastal cities in Guangdong, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Dongguan, and Zhuhai. The delegation will enjoy the picturesque sea views and glimpse the achievements of the marine economy of the province.
On October 30, the delegation embarked on their tour to Guangzhou’s Nansha District, the only passage from Guangzhou to the ocean.
During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), Chinese ships set sail from Guangzhou across the South China Sea, thus pioneering the most important routes of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. Over 1,000 years later, the city announced its goal in 2022 to become a global center for marine innovation and development by 2035, proposing building Nansha District into a marine science and technology innovation center in South China.
At the Nansha Planning Exhibition Hall, the first stop of the trip, the delegation was introduced to the economic, social, and ecological conditions, history, and culture of Nansha District.
"We saw all the different infrastructure that is being planned right now, all the train stations, all the highways, and all the bridges," said Rafael Saavedra, a content creator from Venezuela. "Because the strategic location of Nansha is super important for all the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and connectivity is one of the main key points for the development of this district. I think all of these projects will make this part of Guangzhou more developed with more opportunities to connect with the rest of the world."
Yoon Seokjeong, a journalist from the ROK media Maeil Business Network, said Guangzhou Port was his favorite place during this trip to Guangzhou. "The port is busy, which indicates the trade development in the region. Guangzhou has become an economic hub. I want to show the picture of Guangzhou's economy to audiences in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Coastal cities usually have the advantage of developing the economy. I think the ROK could pay more attention to the blue economy," said Yoon.
Yoon Seokjeong (R1)
As the starting point of the Marine Silk Road, Guangzhou Port has always been the gateway to the world in the Pearl River Delta and the most important port for foreign trade in China. In 2022, the cargo throughput of Guangzhou Port reached 656 million tons and the container throughput was 24.86 million TEU.
Meanwhile, Guangzhou Port has a total of 199 container routes, including 154 foreign trade routes, radiating to countries in Europe, America, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.
Standing on the upper floor of the GOCT Building, the delegation observed large container ships carrying new energy vehicles, logs, textiles, and other cargoes at Guangzhou Port's main port area, Nansha Port Area.
Nansha Port Area of Guangzhou Port (Photo provided to GDToday)
Mahdi Faraj Hamid, a reporter for the Rudaw Media Network, made a live news broadcast about the port. He told GDToday reporter that Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the Canton Fair are among the places where they import most of their products from China. "Through my media, I told my people where all these products come from and how big and important the port is."
Mahdi Faraj Hamid
The Nansha Port Area is the connection point between the Pearl River inland river network and the deep-water seaport, which is seamlessly connected with China's most well-developed comprehensive transportation network of railways, high-speed railways, expressways, aviation and inland rivers.
It has also developed into an important Asian route hub port in South China with the largest number of routes, the most frequent liner service, and the greatest number of shipping companies to/from Africa.
Nansha Port Area of Guangzhou Port (Photo provided to GDToday)
The last stop of the day is the Guangzhou Nansha Fishery Industrial Park, one of the largest contiguous aquatic bases in Guangdong province. The base is fostering its digital fishery, adopting high-tech aquaculture technology like automatic feeding systems and unmanned boats for testing water quality.
Guangzhou Nansha Fishery Industrial Park (Photo provided to GDToday)
This is the first time that DotDotNews reporter Frank visited a fishery industrial park, and he was wowed by the artificial breeding, aquaponics systems, and the technology it used. "The transformation and upgrading of the industry not only help to increase the added value of aquatic products and income for fishermen, but also ensure our self-sufficiency in fishery breeding sources."
The delegation visits the Tongtai Group at the Loteam Cloud Valley, a national-level sci-tech enterprise incubator for next-generation information technology and artificial intelligence. This company focuses on the innovation of activated silica self-repairing concrete materials, which can help marine equipment resist seawater erosion. (Photo provided to GDToday)