Key Port in East Guangdong Province

Shantou Port, with a coastline of 336 km, is close to international golden shipping route in west Pacific Ocean. It is an important starting port of   Maritime Silk Road, one of the 25 main ports inChina, one of the 5 pivotal hubs in Guangdong Province, and the first port to have direct cargo shipping route toTaiwanin Guangdong Province. So far, Shantou Port has cargo shipping connection with 268 ports from 57 countries and regions around the world. In 2016, its cargo throughput ability is 1.24 million TEUs, ranking among the world top 100 container port. Port construction is the priority of Shantou Municipal Government. At present, the city government is working with China Merchants Group to build Shantou  Port into a one billion-tonnage.

National Transportation Hub

The construction of 350km/h high-speed railway, Shantou-Meizhou high-speed railway, intercity light rail, additional Guangzhou-Meizhou-Shantou railway, and Shantou Port railway are going on smoothly. Connecting line to Xiamen-Shenzhen railway and the first phase of Shantou Railway Station will be completed by the end of 2017. With the completion of connecting line to Xiamen-Shenzhen railway, Shantou Railway Station will be one of the few high-speed railway stations located in downtown area inChina. The station, at its busiest hour, could accommodate 64 pairs of passenger trains, serving as a large comprehensive passenger transportation hub for the surrounding area. Five expressways with total length of 163 km are under construction at the same time. Shantou-Jieyang expressway, connecting with Shenyang-Haikou expressway, is completed and put into use. The construction of Chaozhou-Huizhou,Jieyang-Huizhou and Shantou-Zhanjiang expressway is accelerating. The construction of Chanshan loop expressway is launched ahead of schedule. After the completion of the five expressways, expressway intensity in the city will be more than 11km in every 100 km2, higher than the current level of Pearl River Delta. One-hour economic circle in east Guangdong Province, and two-hour economic and living circle to Pearl River Delta and Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou are gradually taking shape, the status of Shantou as a regional central city is more and more obvious.

Chaoshan International Airport

As one of the three main airports in Guangdong Province, Chaoshan Airport now has 6 international lines and 45 domestic lines. The extension of runways and expansion of aprons have already launched. The runway will be extended from 2800m to 3200m. The project will be completed by 2019 according to our plan. By then, Chaoshan Airport will satisfy the departure and landing of E-type passenger plane (similar type as Boeing 777). At present, the construction of High-speed Railway Station at Chaoshan Airport has already been launched, connecting Shantou-Meizhou high-speed railway, expressways and airplane-train transfer center in the future, providing more diversified travel choices, more convenient transfer methods and better travel environment. Travel time from Shantou downtown area to the Airport will be shortened to 20 minutes.

Shantou is one of the earliest SEZs inChinaopen to the outside world, thus its economy is highly export-oriented. As a national famous hometown to numerous overseas Chinese, the city has over 3.4 million overseas Chinese and Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan compatriots, among them, elite people like Mr. Li Ka-Shing has formed an influential group in the international arena. After reform and opening up, many Shantou people seek personal development in other parts ofChina. Thus, in terms of population, people always say that we have one Shantou in Shantou city, one Shantou in domesticChina, and one more Shantou overseas. Thanks to our abundant overseas Chinese resources, Shantou has now established trade and economic relations with more than 180 countries and regions. Nearly 1000 companies in the city is foreign invested and 18 Fortune Global 500 companies have invested in Shantou.

Hanjiang River, Rongjiang River and Lianjiang River converge in Shantou city and flow into the sea, forming the Chaoshan Plain. Rongjiang River flows through downtown Shantou, shaping Shantou into a city with one bay and two banks, namely the north bank and the south bank. The Tropic of Cancer runs through the city, thus the climate of Shantou is characterized as warm in winter and cool in summer. The beautiful landscape of Shantou is best demonstrated by its clean water, green mountains, blue sky and sound eco-system. As a regional education, healthcare, culture and information center, the city also has a sound social service system. At present, the city is striving to build international and national eco-environment model zone, such as mangrove forest and eco-island, with the purpose of making Shantou into a city with best living environment.

With thousand years of history, Shantou is known as a city with profound cultural reserve and a city where culture is respected and education is important. Its unique culture is represented by Chaoshan opera, Chaoshan cuisine, kongfu tea, mosaic porcelain, paper-cutting, wood-carving, Yingge dance, centipede dance, dragon-fish dance, etc., all of which showcase the glorious cultural history of Shantou, and prove the historical status of Shantou as an important gateway along the Maritime Silk Road. Shantou University, a key comprehensive university, is listed in the "211 Project". Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology will start to recruit students globally this year, and aims to become an international university with advanced science and technology innovation capability.

Shantou city has 8 pillar industries, including electronics and information, mechanical equipment, textile and garment, toys and craft, chemical plastic, food and drug, printing and packaging, video and audio material. The city is the biggest undergarment producing base, one of the three biggest producing bases for toys and crafts and stationary, and one of the four biggest manufacturing bases for printing and packaging mechanical equipment inChina. Toys produced in Chenghai District accounts for 30% of the global total volume. Undergarment and homewear produced in Chaonan District accounts for 35% ofChina's total volume.

Since 2016, driven by our effort to build national civilized city and to strengthen city management, image of Shantou is greatly improved, more investment is made in Shantou, people are more confident in Shantou, and Special Economic Zone spirit and efficiency are revitalizing in Shantou. In 2016, GDP of Shantou is 208.054 billion RMB, ranking the 1st in east Guangdong Province in terms of economic scale, and the 2nd in Guangdong  Province in terms of growth speed. Total investment in fixed asset is 157.953 billion, ranking the 5th in Guangdong Province in terms of scale, and the 1st in Guangdong  Province in terms of growth speed. Many famous enterprises both home and abroad began to invest in Shantou, including China Merchants Group, BYD, ZHX Holdings, Tianan Cyber Park, Baoneng, Mingyuan Group, Wanda Group, etc. Their investment greatly drives the development of Shantou.