The Greater Circulation

The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, commonly referred to as the Greater Bay Area (GBA) or Pearl River megalopolis, is a megalopolis, consisting of nine cities and two special administrative regions in South China. It is the largest and most populated urban area in the world. The GBA—with a total population of approximately 86 million people—includes nine mega cities of Guangdong province: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing as well as two special administrative regions, Hong Kong, and Macao (Macau). Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have been described among the world's 50 "superstar cities". Surrounding the Pearl River Delta with a total area of 56,000 km2 (comparable in size to Croatia), it is the largest and the richest economic region in South China. The GBA's combined regional GDP was RMB¥15 trillion (US$2.1 trillion) in 2024, which was equivalent to Spain. In 2024, the GDP of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area surpassed RMB 14.5 trillion. As one of China's most vibrant and important regions, the GBA has the highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country and houses a majority of China's most innovative technology companies, such as Huawei, ZTE, DJI, BYD, GAC Group, and Tencent (parent company of WeChat). GBA has a rich ecosystem of startups, incubators, and accelerators in the fields of agile tech, biotech, medical tech, and innovation. For these reasons, many experts consider the region an emerging Silicon Valley of Asia. According to the WIPO Innovation Cluster Rating 2025, the region is the leading science and technology cluster in the world.