Guangdong has held the top spot in total economic output in the country for 34 years.，as a Cantonese I am so proud of it. But indeed, the combined economic output of the 12 cities in eastern, western, and northern Guangdong is less than one-fourth of that of the nine cities in the Pearl River Delta. The per capita disposable income of residents in these areas is below the national average.
Therefore, by the end of 2022, Guangdong has been putting a lot of efforts on the 'High-Quality Development Project for Hundreds of Counties, Thousands of Towns, and Myriads of Villages' to address the unbalanced and insufficient development between urban and rural areas.
How to solve this? Let's take an example. In Maoming, western Guangdong, an economically underdeveloped area that produces a lot of lychees. After the launch of the 'Hundred, Thousand, Myriad Project,' lychee live-streaming sales began. Opening up sales channels and developing lychee cultural creativity. One thing is very impressive：this industry employs 20,000 lychee sales agents. The industry's development prospects are bright, attracting 80% of farmers to cultivate lychees. Now, one-fifth of the world's lychee comes from Maoming, and the ones you've tasted might have come from there.
There's also offshore wind power in eastern Guangdong. In Shantou, traditional fishing is famous but hasn't brought noticeable economic benefits. With a coastline of 289 kilometers in Shantou, isn't it a waste not to utilize wind power? In Haojiang, Shantou, efforts were made to construct an intelligent manufacturing and offshore wind power industry cluster, achieving 'underwater breeding and offshore power generation.' The streets in Haojiang District have started developing cultural tourism. Staying by the sea, enjoying seafood, shooting films, tourism, gastronomy, sightseeing agriculture; a perfect closed-loop tourism industry chain.
Throughout Guangdong Province, with its 122 counties (cities, districts), 1609 towns (streets), and 26,500 administrative villages (communities), we look forward to their continuous transformation. The 'Understanding China' International Conference 2023 will be held in Guangzhou from December 1st to 3rd. One of the topics includes a comprehensive display of the vibrant development panorama of the Greater Bay Area. This brings us to today's topic: 'High-Quality Development Project for Hundreds of Counties, Thousands of Towns, and Myriads of Villages.'
Understanding China. Welcome to China, Welcome to Guangdong.
