Guangzhou, China

City Profile

The city of Guangzhou ranks as number 1 on both of the lists of vulnerable coastal cities of the world (World Bank), while Shenzhen ranks number 9 on List A and number 10 on List B. What makes these two cities, which are relatively close to each other geographically, rank so high on these two lists?

This discussion will include the region in southern China known as the Pearl River Delta or PRD, which is within Guangdong Province, of which Guangzhou is Capital. Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) is one of several cities which have merged together to form a mega-city. More detailed information on the economy of this rapidly growing region may be found in this fact sheet about Guangdong Province:

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Figure 1.16: The Pearl River in Guangzhou, RP China.
Credit: Photo created by User:老火豆沙煲

The third largest city in China, Guangzhou, is the capital of Guangdong Province and has a population of approximately 15 million people. Guangzhou is actually part of a megalopolis formed by the coalescence of several cities. To the south of Guangzhou is Shenzhen, which itself ranks 9 on list A and 10 on List B. South of Shenzhen is Hong Kong. The region of mainland China to the north of Hong Kong is considered one of the more progressive parts of China. In recent years, it has seen rapid economic and population growth.

The population of the city of Guangzhou is estimated to be more than 15 million, presenting many issues for city leaders. The rapid growth has occurred mainly because of the influx to the city by people from rural areas. 15 million has been deemed Guangzhou's maximum capacity, so city leaders are considering ways to control population growth, while at the same time planning for the relaxation of the one child per family rule imposed by the Chinese government.

This densely populated city sprawls across the Pearl River Delta, a low lying coastal plain formed by the Pearl River and its distributaries as they enter the South China Sea. The low elevation of much of the most densely populated areas is significant to the overall vulnerability of the people living here to inundation in the event of a tropical cyclone and as a result of sea level rise.

Shenzhen to the south is part of the "Special Economic Zones" formed as part of the reform and opening up policy in China. Shenzhen sits in close proximity to Hong Kong and here people move freely between mainland China and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is today considered a "Special Administrative Region" of the People's Republic of China. China resumed sovereignty from Britain over Hong Kong in 1997. Because of its turbulent political history, Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan region with a large population of non-Chinese residents, setting it apart from its mainland neighbors. It is a mountainous coastal region with an area of a little over 1,000 km and a population of 7 million, most of which live on the low-lying coastal fringe. This makes Hong Kong one of the most densely populated areas in the world. This densely populated fringe of land is highly vulnerable to inundation.