In the middle of winter, the northern wind and snow have arrived, and the banks of the the Pearl River Estuary are still lush and vibrant. This year marks the 5th anniversary of the release of the "Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area", as the high-speed railway crosses Shenzhen and Hong Kong in 14 minutes, the Hengqin Port can clear customs in as fast as 20 seconds, and the total economic output exceeds 14 trillion yuan. For over 5 years, an international first-class bay area and world-class city cluster have grown rapidly along the coast of the South China Sea. The construction of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is not only a new attempt to promote the formation of a new pattern of comprehensive opening up in the new era, but also a new practice to promote the development of the "One Country, Two Systems" cause. The surging the Pearl River echoed the ardent advice of the General Secretary: "We should boldly break through, boldly try, and open a new way." The tide setters stood up to the waves and held the flag high for the future. A new chapter of development is being written on this land of reform and opening up. Building a "dual circulation" strategic pivot facing the South China Sea, with warm winds and blooming flowers. In early December, the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is ushering in a pleasant season. Serving and integrating into the new development pattern, strengthening internal opening up and promoting high-level external opening up, and creating a strong strategic pivot for the new development pattern, are becoming a consensus among all sectors. ——Focusing on major platforms, expanding new development space on a larger scale, wider fields, and deeper levels, and steadfastly promoting higher-level opening up. In Qianhai, the Shenzhen Hong Kong International Financial City has settled in 420 financial institutions such as HSBC and UBS, and has become the "first stop" for Hong Kong funded financial institutions entering the mainland. Huang Xiaopeng, Executive Deputy Director of Qianhai Management Bureau, said that Qianhai attaches great importance to the connection with Hong Kong and Macao rules, and strives to create a "source of institutional innovation" and "experimental field for reform and opening up" in the new era. In Nansha, the three major exchanges of futures, shipping, and data have settled down, and the comprehensive service base for Chinese enterprises to "go global" has started operation. Liu Wei, member of the Standing Committee of the Guangzhou Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Nansha District Committee, said that Nansha has anchored the major strategic platform goal of "based in the bay area, coordinated with Hong Kong and Macao, and facing the world", and has accelerated pioneering reform explorations in emerging industries and opening up to the outside world. In Hengqin, personnel traveling to and from Qin'ao can complete customs clearance at the Hengqin Port in as fast as 20 seconds. More than 170 multi-functional free trade accounts have been opened. Nie Xinping, Director of the Hengqin Office of the Guangdong Provincial Government, said that Hengqin will make every effort to achieve integrated development between Qinqin and Macao, and promote more convenient flow of resources and factors. In Hetao, researchers can conveniently travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong by driving or taking cross-border buses through the "No.1 Channel" of Futian Free Trade Zone. The Shenzhen Data Exchange leads the country in cross-border data trading scale. Zeng Jianpeng, Director of the Shenzhen Industrial Park Development Department of the Hetao Shenzhen Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, said that we will make good use of the advantages of "one zone and two parks" in Hetao and strive to build a world-class scientific research hub. ——Expand domestic opening up, expand domestic economic connections in multiple circles, levels, and forms, and integrate into the construction of a unified national market. Promoting the high-quality development of the Qiongzhou Strait integration through the linkage between the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and the Hainan Free Trade Port, and strengthening cooperation with the Yangtze River Delta in key areas such as product research and development and finished product manufacturing... The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is steadily expanding its opening-up to the domestic market. Currently, the world's century long changes are accelerating, and external instability and uncertainty are increasing. The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, which is at the forefront of reform and opening up, is facing direct impacts. While consolidating and enhancing its external economic ties, the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is actively expanding its domestic opening-up. Zhu Wei, Executive Deputy Director of the Greater Bay Area Office of Guangdong Province, said that in recent years, the Greater Bay Area has actively explored various new mechanisms, strengthened coordination and linkage with other major national strategies, and focused on expanding the economic depth of the Greater Bay Area. ——Deepen reform to promote expanded opening up and deepen the construction of the Greater Bay Area. General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed during his inspection in Guangdong in 2018: "We need to expand opening up at a higher level, build the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone with high standards, and create a high-level gateway hub for opening up to the outside world. We need to continue to promote reform and ensure the coordination and progress of reform measures." On November 29th of this year, the "New Round of Measures for Customs to Support Guangzhou Nansha's Innovative Development" was released. New measures have been added to deepen reforms in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. By accelerating reform and innovation in institutional mechanisms and exploring key areas and key links in advance, new breakthroughs have been continuously made in the reform of key areas and key links in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. Through opening up to promote reform and reform to promote development, the integration of rules and systems among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao has deepened, and the level of coordinated development has significantly improved. Striving to create a high-quality development demonstration site, with less than 0.6% of the country's land area, has created 1/9 of the country's total economic output. This 56000 square kilometer land is one of the most open and economically vibrant regions in China, as well as one of the areas with the highest quality of economic development and the most "gold content". ——Advancing towards integration, smooth traffic, prosperous people, and abundant wealth. The 'hard connectivity' of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is moving towards deeper integration, presenting a new atmosphere of smooth transportation, prosperous people, and abundant wealth. A group of cross river channels with huge flow. The Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway has been open for 118 days, with a traffic volume exceeding 10 million trains; After the opening of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, the number of inbound and outbound passengers through highway ports has reached over 60 million; The flow of cross river channels such as Nansha Bridge and Humen Bridge remains high. A world-class port cluster that connects the world. The throughput of regional ports ranks first in the world's bay areas, with Guangzhou Port, Shenzhen Port, Zhuhai Port and other ports entering the ranks of billion ton ports. The container shipping routes of Guangzhou Port and Shenzhen Port reach over 120 countries (regions) and 300 ports. A densely developed world-class airport cluster. At present, there are 7 transportation airports in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. With the opening of three runways at Hong Kong Airport and the construction of Phase III of Baiyun Airport, the airport cluster in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is expected to have an annual passenger throughput of 420 million by 2035. An advanced and efficient rail transit network. Since 2018, cross-border transportation infrastructure such as the Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong high-speed railway and the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge has been successively built, with over 5400 kilometers of rail transit in operation and under construction. The "Greater Bay Area on the Rail" has taken shape. ——Moving towards a new direction, industry and technology mutually promote and strengthen each other. The cluster of large-scale scientific facilities is gradually taking shape, and the laboratory system is constantly enriching... The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is constantly moving towards a global innovation highland. The laboratory system lays a new foundation. Gong Guoping, secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province, said that laboratory platforms such as 2 national laboratories, 30 State Key Laboratory and 430 provincial key laboratories in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area formed a laboratory system with echelon connection, multiple subjects and distinct characteristics, laying a solid foundation for innovation. The technology corridor leads a new trend of collaboration. The driving and demonstration effects of major platforms such as the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area International Science and Technology Innovation Center are gradually emerging, and the "Shenzhen Hong Kong Guangzhou" technology cluster has been ranked among the world's best technology clusters for five consecutive years. The rapid development of new industries has activated new driving forces. Under the guidance of new technologies, batches of technology enterprises have emerged in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, and emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, low altitude economy, and artificial intelligence have taken off, presenting a new atmosphere of mutual promotion of industrial technology and dual strength. ——Stand strong and grow through wind and rain. Amidst the ups and downs of the global economy, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have made upward breakthroughs. Faced with the global economic downturn and slowdown, the total economic output of the Greater Bay Area continues to grow, from 10.8 trillion yuan in 2018 to over 14 trillion yuan in 2023. More and more enterprises are rooted in Guangdong. This year's Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area Global Investment Promotion Conference reached 1933 projects with a total funding of 2.26 trillion yuan. Faced with the reshaping of the global economic landscape and the rise of anti globalization, the Greater Bay Area has strengthened its muscles and bones in the wind and rain. By vigorously developing new technologies, industries, formats, and models, a group of enterprises in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area have emerged. Huawei smartphones, which were once in a slump due to extreme suppression, have risen again and ranked first in the Chinese smartphone market in terms of shipment volume in the first half of this year. By benchmarking against international high standard economic and trade rules, continuously deepening reforms in the business environment, and facilitating efficient cross-border flows of people, logistics, capital, and information, the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is becoming one of the most promising growth poles in the world. Anchor the leading place of Chinese path to modernization to share the heavy responsibilities and glory. Looking back, since the 5th anniversary of the public release of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, there have been fruitful achievements. Towards the future, in the vivid practice of Chinese path to modernization, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao are working together to jointly build and share the best bay area in the world. ——Green Bay Area, creating a "Greater Bay Area sample" of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Cities are greener. In Futian District, the busiest area in Shenzhen, mangroves spread out like grasslands, and white egrets flock on the clear water and green leaves. Human and nature coexist harmoniously in this modern international metropolis. On November 6th, the International Mangrove Center was established in Shenzhen. This is a concrete practice to improve the global environmental governance system and build a community with a shared future for mankind. Industry is greener. Relying on the seven major circular economy industrial parks, Guangzhou's designed capacity for incineration of domestic waste reaches 33000 tons/day, making it a mega city with zero landfill of domestic waste. Wang Baosen, Director of the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Guangzhou, said that Guangzhou vigorously cultivates the energy conservation, environmental protection, and ecological industry chain, with an industrial scale of over 300 billion yuan. The kinetic energy is greener. Ma Jinglun, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Guangdong Power Grid Company of China Southern Power Grid, said that now every two years of electricity in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is "zero carbon electricity", and the clean energy structure injects green momentum into development. In the first half of this year, all 9 cities in the Pearl River Delta ranked among the top 20 in terms of air quality among 168 key cities in China. ——Humanistic Bay Area, Chinese stories go global from here. The musical "Dongguan East" tour has resonated greatly across the country, while the dance drama "Wing Chun" has won widespread acclaim with 208 performances in 41 cities worldwide; Cultural activities such as the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area Cultural and Art Festival continue to emerge one after another; Cultural exhibitions such as the Shenzhen Cultural Expo are taking turns to appear... The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, with abundant material supply and poetic life, is coming. In recent years, the construction of the humanistic bay area in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area has continued to deepen, with the spirit of pragmatism, inclusiveness, openness, and innovation deeply ingrained in people's hearts, and the spiritual core of upward goodness, strength, and simplicity deeply imprinted. Li Bin, Director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, said that through the implementation of the Lingnan Cultural "Double Creation" Project and other initiatives, the province is promoting the development of cultural heritage and creativity in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, shaping cultural advantages that match its economic strength, and creating an important platform for cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and foreign countries. ——Sharing the Bay Area, the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is becoming more and more like a city. The trend of 'Hong Kong people heading north' has become prevalent. In the first half of 2024, the number of Hong Kong citizens going north to Shenzhen reached 44.66 million. Based on a population of 7.5 million in Hong Kong, the average frequency per person is about 6 times, which is equivalent to once per person per month. Life and production take place in Qin'ao. As of September 2024, the total number of Macau enterprises in the Qin'ao Cooperation Zone has reached 6461, and the number of Macau residents living and residing in the cooperation zone has reached 16539, a year-on-year increase of 19.1%. A new phenomenon of 'going north and south' has emerged. In Hong Kong, following the trend of "Hong Kong people heading north", "North stores heading south" has also become a trend. Many mainland consumer brands are accelerating their entry into Hong Kong, becoming a new paradigm for the integration of mainland and Hong Kong. A Hong Kong youth exclaimed, "The Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong high-speed railway can cross Shenzhen and Hong Kong in just 14 minutes, and the fastest travel time to Qin'ao through Hengqin Port is 20 minutes. The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is becoming more and more like a city." Adhering to the people-centered development concept and focusing on the aspirations of residents in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao for a better life, a high-quality living circle that is livable, business friendly, and tourist friendly is about to emerge. Three rivers converge and eight mouths enter the sea. The magnificent the Pearl River Estuary, where mountains and seas converge, has witnessed for thousands of years