Recently, I made a brief visit to Nansha of Guangzhou attending a forum on the theme of the deepening integration and cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangdong. People may know little about the tiny peninsula. Situated at the southernmost edge of Guangzhou, Nansha is 38 nautical miles from Hong Kong. It is historically unique with abundant Lingnan culture and charms. It was the ancient battlefield of the opium wars and the cradle of China's modern thoughts. It is where China's history of humiliation began, when British gunboats tore its defenses apart. But now, China is well on its way to rejuvenation. Nansha, once again, has a big role to play as the nation ushers in a new era.

Geographically, Nansha enjoys an unbeatable advantage. It is the geographical center of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region and Guangzhou's only access to the sea. As early as the third century, Guangzhou was already a principal harbor. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Guangzhou developed into the largest port in China, forming a key part of "the Marine Silk Road" from Guangzhou through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean to countries in the Persian Gulf, representing the longest ocean route in the world at the time.

As the earliest port ever opened to foreign trade, Guangzhou has long been described as the "southern gate of China". Unfortunately, Nansha, regarded as the "Siberia of the PRD", has lagged behind for a long time in the past decades and has been trailing its neighboring peers by a huge margin. Now, it has been designated to be a pioneering project under CEPA, as included in the nation's 12th Five-Year Plan, to become a State-level development zone.

Upon my arrival, I was struck by its vibrancy and the spirit of change in the air. What is most impressive and refreshing is not just its speedy development, but also a balance it has maintained between economic growth and eco-system protection. On the course of development, unlike many cities on the mainland, Nansha has managed to keep a delightful harmony between nature and humans. This has been made possible by the government's insight, vision and relentless efforts, all with a strong focus on ecological protection and sustainable development. No wonder it was awarded a gold medal of "the world's most livable community prize" by the UN. This is a remarkable feat and it rekindles our hope that a rapid economic growth doesn't always come at the expense of the mother nature.

Geographical advantage makes it a natural transportation hub (land, air, sea and river), linking the PRD's 14 major cities and five international airports in Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai within a radius of 100 square kilometers, which provide Nansha with a huge space for development and radiation potential.

The district is roughly the size of Singapore. With high expectation for Nansha, people often compare this idyllic and thriving land to Singapore. Life here is enviably comfortable. Compared with Hong Kong where prices of houses are sky-rocketing and practically out of reach for people with modest means, the property market in Nansha is a fairy-tale. A grand seaview apartment cost about 600-800 yuan per square foot.

We all know that the PRD has been leading China's economy for the past three decades. Whether it can still be the frontrunner very much depends on how successfully it can integrate with Hong Kong. Nansha can certainly serves as a demonstrating model for this irresistible trend. Thanks to CEPA's preferential policies granted by the central government, Nansha is able to "start off before others".

The central government and regional authorities have high hopes for Nansha's future - with a plan to build the PRD as one of the world's most vibrant city clusters, not unlike New York, London or Tokyo, while Nansha is at the center of this grand endeavor.

With the blessing of the central government, the backing of PRD as the largest manufacturing powerhouse in the world, and supported by strong scientific research from Hong Kong and southern China, I believe Nansha can evolve from bareness into a masterpiece - an industrial highland with competitive edges in key domains of education, professional services, creative industries, leisure and tourism. It will become an integration area in line with Hong Kong and Macao business environment and a Singapore-style urbanization model of China.

The author is a staff writer.

(HK Edition 08/29/2012 page3)