Guangzhou — The future’s most important city.

Part 3: COVID-19 Series

*While locked down (what sometimes feels like locked up) in Bali, Indonesia I’ve decided to write a series related to coronavirus. It will include how it has affected me, how it has affected my businesses, how it has affected the present, how it has affected the future and all angles of how I’m thinking during this time.

*Disclosure Statement: I am the CEO of MorphoMFG, a contract manufacturing company HQ’d in Guangzhou, China.

*All opinions are mine and mine alone.

The Best Decision I’ve Ever Made

When I first considered moving to China I had initially communicated with a friend of mine who lived in Shanghai. He worked for the American Embassy and said that he had friends at the Canadian Embassy who could probably get me a job.

It sounded like a beauty of an opportunity. Shanghai looked to be a bustling city full of opportunity.

After a lot of thought, I decided I would take the plunge.

Just prior to purchasing my flight, I heard about the Canton Fair.

The Canton Fair in Guangzhou is one of the largest trade exhibitions in the entire world.

Check the aerial:

The fair’s attendance is higher than CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. On top of that, it happens two times per year.

The space where Canton Fair takes place is as big as a combined 71 Wal-Mart Supercenters. Think about that…

Factories come from all over the country to show off their wares.

I’ve always loved business, products, and design.

It didn’t take me long to decide that Guangzhou was the place to be.

Last-minute, I changed plans, made arrangements with my university, and bought tickets to Guangzhou.

I flew into the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN).

The story of arriving at the airport in China is solid. My next installment in the series will detail this story in more detail, but for now, let’s get to the sauce of this article.

The Most Modern City in The World?

Prior to heading to Guangzhou, this is the result I saw when I Google’d Guangzhou:

This is what I saw the first morning when I woke up in my hotel:

I’ve always been the type to make decisions at the snap of a finger and decide that I’ll ‘FIGURE IT OUT’ once I arrive.

Looking around once the sun was up (pictured above) made me realize that this time it might have backfired.

It didn’t take me long to realize I was in the wrong hood!

I figured out where to go and got on the metro.

As soon as I exited, I knew Guangzhou was going to be my new home.

The pace was unbelievable. Within a week I had friends, a job, and more importantly, a plan.

I haven’t looked back once and I’ve never regretted that decision.

I dropped out of school and began down an entrepreneurial path that I’ll write about more in the days and weeks that follow until this pandemic is cleared up.

Fast forward to today…

Guangzhou and the surrounding PRD are the biggest megalopolis in the world and I don’t see that slowing down anytime soon.

What is the PRD (The Pearl River Delta)?

The Pearl River Delta is a triangle-shaped area in the Southern province of Guangdong (Canton) in China.

It comprises 9 prefectures in the province of Guangdong and the SARs (Special Administrative Region) of Hong Kong and Macau.

There are a LOT of people in this region.

Check out the chart below:

*Populations are gathered from multiple sources and are approximate

As of the most recent and comprehensive consensus in 2013, the population of the PRD was 57.15 million. That does not take into account the following:

• My current individual city populations added up is much higher
• The consensus in large Chinese cities is almost impossible to keep accurate due to the exponential growth and lack of uber-advanced tracking systems
• That # was from 7 years ago

Said simply; the Pearl River Delta is a beast of a region.

There are approximately 240km between Zhaoqing and Huizhou.

There are approximately 200km between Qingyuan and Zhuhai.

That makes the square area of the megalopolis approximately 48,000 sq km. This covers an area somewhere between the total land areas of West Virginia (62,756 sq km) and Maryland (32,131 sq km).

To paint you a picture, West Virginia and Maryland have populations of 1.8mm and 6.04mm people respectively.

Guangdong (Canton), the province that Guangzhou is located in is 177,900 sq km. To give you perspective, the state of Texas is 695,662 sq km. Despite being only approx. ¼ the size, Guangdong’s population is already almost quadruple that of Texas. It has grown at an exponential rate and is the number one most populated province in China.

Despite its size and it’s only very relatively recent exponential growth, the World Bank Group has said that the PRD has become the largest urban area in the world.

Second place Tokyo registered a total population of 37.4 million in a 2019 consensus. A bit shy of half the population of the PRD megalopolis..

While my prediction is that continued growth within the region and upwards trends for population will result in a power swing to Guangzhou and the surrounding region, I’m simply giving you the facts.

Interconnectivity: High-Speed Railway System

China is already home to the two fastest high-speed trains in the world.

^ From Conde Naste Traveler

The same technology that is used in Shanghai and Beijing is now being set up en masse in Guangdong.

Take a look at the plans for the PRD.

On September 23, the final phase of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong express rail link (XRL) will be completed, connecting Hong Kong with mainland China’s high-speed rail system.

Continued creation of entry / exit points will create a decreasing friction for travel between Hong Kong and Guangzhou which will bring these two cities together.

Nevermind the fact that the new train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou will now be a sub-50 minute journey compared to the 2-hour journey prior to the completion of this route.

While my prediction is that continued development of the high-speed railway connectivity within the region will result in a power swing to Guangzhou and the surrounding region, I’m simply giving you the facts.

International Presence

In 2010, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) was the 19th busiest in the world with 40,975,673 total passengers. Eight years later, CAN flew a total of 69,769,497 total passengers as the 13th busiest airport in the world.

This number was still eclipsed by the busiest airport in the world, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), with 107,394,029 total passengers.

But, when you factor in that the PRD has 2 other MAJOR international airports in #8 Hong Kong HKG (74,517,402) and #32 Shenzhen SZX (49,350,000), the fact that the PRD is shipping more people internationally than any other area in the world is quickly realized. A total of 193,636,899 total passengers in 2018.

I bet the numbers in 2019 show a continued upward trend.

If it weren’t for this COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 would show an even more upwards trend.

While my prediction is that continued mass international travel will result in a power swing to Guangzhou and the surrounding region, I’m simply giving you the facts.

Hong Kong & Macau

The British controlled Hong Kong from 1841 to July 1st, 1997.

*Hong Kong is one of the most important international financial cities in the world.

The Portuguese controlled Macau from 1557 to December 20th, 1999.

*Macau is the largest gambling city by revenue money in the world.

On those latter dates above, the PRC (People’s Republic of China) took over control of both territories and created SARs (Special Administrative Regions).

Both of these territories already share the Cantonese language with the entire PRD.

‘One Country, Two Systems’ is the phrase used to describe the current relationship between the regions.

While Hong Kong’s autonomy is for the most part in place, it is set to expire in 2047.

While Macau’s autonomy is for the most part in place, it is set to expire in 2049.

While what happens next is not set in stone, the fate of both these regions post-expiration date will be entirely up to the Chinese Communist Party.

However, it is general opinion, that both Hong Kong and Macau are both moving closer to being a part of China. Macau has done so without much pushback. Hong Kong, on the other hand, has given pushback through demonstrations and protests.

While my prediction is that these regions will slowly become more and more Chinese. I believe the continued annexation of both Hong Kong & Macau to Mainland China, more specifically, the PRD, will result in a power swing to Guangzhou and the surrounding region, I’m simply giving you the facts.

Why does this matter to you?

Regarding the manufacturing of products ‘Made In China’, I hear a lot of people saying:

• The days of manufacturing in China are over
• There are cheaper countries to make product in

Nah.

We’re just getting started.

Approximately 25% of all of China’s exports come out of Guangdong.

China is moving away from producing cheap shit to producing the best of the best.

The screen you’re reading this article on was most likely produced in the PRD.

Probably the comfy office chair you’re sitting on as well.

A majority of the world’s complex products are manufactured in this region.

If you want to build a complex high-quality product, there is still only one consistently legitimate place to make your product.

A combination of infrastructure, price, quality, timeliness, minimum order quantities all equate to the fact that China is the LITERAL only place in the world to make these types of products.

What are you going to do about it?

What product ideas do you have?

During self-quarantine, what have you done?

Time to start that product-based business you’ve been ‘waiting’ to start once you had more time on your hands.

Guess what?

You’ve got that time.

Do something about it!

Click the logo below to get in touch and learn more about how you can create your dream product today in China with MorphoMFG.