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Zhuhai, a city of only 40 years in Guangdong province, has vowed to map out a high-quality growth plan to embrace historic development opportunities.

As a powerhouse on the western bank of the Pearl River Estuary, Zhuhai was one of the earliest special economic zones in China, and has been placed at the forefront of reform and opening-up.

According to the Zhuhai government, the city's GDP reached 291.5 billion yuan ($41.11 billion) in 2018. With more than 3,000 international trade enterprises, the city has ranked among China's top 10 for years in terms of foreign trade.

A bird's-eye view of Zhuhai, the only city on the Chinese mainland to connect Hong Kong and Macao by land. Provided to China Daily

With the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in 2018 and the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Zhuhai is closer than ever to its goal of becoming a regional gateway and Zhuhai wants to become a quality development model among coastal cities, officials said.

In recent years, Zhuhai built the Hengqin section of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Pearl River Delta National Innovation Demonstration Zone and it has achieved remarkable results.

Last year, Hengqin, which was included as part of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone in 2015, announced a package of policies. They included 66 measures covering 18 areas to seek quality economic development and broaden its appeal to the world.

As of 2018, more than 60,000 business entities had settled down in Hengqin. The Hengqin FTZ saw its GDP reach 24.4 billion yuan in 2018 with an average annual growth rate of 29.1 percent during the past four years.