Foshan

　　Located at the heart of the Pearl River Delta(PRD), one of the most economically vibrant areas in China, Foshan enjoys excellent geographic advantage. Foshan and Guangzhou put in place the “Guangzhou-Foshan Metropolitan Circle”, which is an important part of “Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing Economic Circle” and “Pearl River and Xijiang River Economic Belt”. Foshan leads the economic development of Guangdong Province.

　　Adjacent to Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR, Foshan is within two-hour drive away from those two regions. With Guangzhou-Shenzhen High Speed Railway and Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Rapid Rail, the three cities(Foshan, Hong Kong and Macao) have formed “1-hour Transportation Circle”.

　　At present, Foshan governs five districts, namely, Changchen District, Nanhai District, Shunde District, Gaoming District and Sanshui District. The city covers a total area of 3797.72 km2, and has a population of 7.3506 million including 3.8561 million with local household registration.

　　I. Foshan, a famous city of Lingnan culture with profound accumulation

　　Foshan, “Founded in Jin and Named in Tang”, was originally named Jihuaxiang. The city has been ever since renamed as Foshan for 1388 years till now, which is literally interpreted in Chinese as Hill of Buddha.

　　Foshan, with a long history and rich culture, is one of the birthplaces of Lingnan Culture. Foshan has been famous for being Hometown of Ceramics, Hometown of Canton Opera, Hometown of Martial Arts, Hometown of Canton Silk, Hometown of Patent Medicine in Lingnan Region, Hometown of Folk Arts. Foshan has gestated many folk customs, including Qiuse (Parade celebrating autumn harvest and Xingdongji(Walking through the Tongji Bridge on the Lantern Day), etc.

　　Known as Hometown of Ceramics, Foshan has enjoyed the reputation of “Ceramics from Shiwan, the Best Under the Sun” ever since ancient times. Nanfeng Ancient Kiln, built in Zhengde period of Ming Dynasty, is the oldest wood-firing kiln existing in the world. The kiln has been used for more than 500 years.

　　Known as the Hometown of martial arts, Foshan is the place where southern martial arts originated, represented by Cai Lifo boxing style, Hong boxing style and Yong Chun boxing style. Famous Kongfu master Huang Feihong, Liang Zan, Ip Man and Kung Fu film star Bruce Lee, of Foshan origin, learned the martial arts in Foshan.

　　 II. Foshan, a manufacturing base with distinctive development features

　　Since China’s reform and opening up, the industrious and credible Foshan people have been working hard to seize the opportunities to start and develop their business, building Foshan into a well-known manufacturing base in China. In the past 3 decades, the city maintains a 16% growth rate in its local GDP, making Foshan one of the cities with rapid economic development and strong competitiveness. According to the Blue Book of Urban Competitiveness 2015, Foshan ranks 11th among all Chinese cities in terms of overall competitiveness.

　　Manufacturing industry leading economic development. The city has formed its leading position in various industries, including machinery equipment, household appliances, ceramic products and building materials, metal processing and products, textile and garment, electronic information, food and beverage, fine chemicals and pharmacy, and housewares, etc. Emerging industries like opto-electronic devices, environment-friendly products, new materials, new medicines and new energy vehicle are rising.

　　III.Foshan, a city advocating open,inclusiveness and win-win cooperation

　　Foshan is one of the earliest trading ports in China’s history and one of the earliest commodity export bases since the reform and opening up. Its products have been exported to over 100 countries and regions. Foshan is also a renowned hometown for overseas Chinese with over 1.48 million Chinese of Foshan’s descent living in Hongkong, Macao and other regions of the world.

　　Foshan has been a hot spot for foreign investment. Now, 60 of the Fortune Global 500 cooperations such as Volkswagen, Toyota and Budweiser have invested in Foshan.

　　Foshan has been continuously expanding its foreign exchanges. Sister city relations with Itami of Japan, Port Louis of Mauritius, Stockton of the United States, Ingolstadt of Germany and other foreign cities have been established. Foshan received “The Award to Friendship Cities for Exchanges and Cooperation”. Foshan also launched the initiative to build “Sino-German Industrial Cities Alliance” with Bremen, Hanover and other cities at home and abroad.　

　　Since the launch of Guangzhou-Foshan Metropolitan program, the two cities have been further integrated in the areas of urban planning, infrastructure construction, industrial interaction, environment protection and people’s livelihood, which made a perfect sample in the country for cooperation of regional integration. The first intercity metro in China, Guangzhou-Foshan Metro, has been put into operation. The development of Foshan has been deepened and expanded by its participation in such regional cooperation as the construction of the economic zone of Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhaoqing, the cooperation of Foshan, Hongkong and Macau, the pan-Pearl River Delta cooperation, the Pearl River-Xijiang River economic belt construction, the building of Guangdong Free Trade Zone and the construction of economic cooperative pilot zone of Guangdong, Guangxi and Guizhou connected by high speed rail.  

　　IV.Foshan, a beautiful city of living and tourism

　　Foshan adheres to the development concept of rationality, harmony, green and low-carbon. The integration of people, urban environment and industries will be implemented. The city endeavors to form a city pattern with clear city clusters, distinctive centers, well-established functions, beautiful environment and highlighted Lingnan characteristics.