Sister Cities

Zhuhai has established sister city relations with 11 foreign cities since 1987, including Gavle (Sweden), Gold Coast (Australia), Atami (Japan), Suwon (Korea), Portsmouth (Britain) and had friendly exchanges with 14 cities, according to Southern Daily.

Sister cities of Zhuhai

Surrey, Canada

July 8, 1987

Overview: the city has a developed traffic network and is developed in manufacturing, steel and food processing. Agriculture and food processing are the backbone of the local economy.

Redwood City, USA

October 11, 1993

Overview: primary industry is software. Software companies account for half of the employed population. It is also home to Oracle and DHL.

Castelo Branco, Portugal

September 29, 1994

Overview: agriculture plays a very important role, while the pillar is tertiary industry. Transportation, business travel,finance and insurance are prominent.

Atami, Japan

July 25, 2004

Overview: the city is famous for hot springs and a winter resort in Japan.

Suwon, Korea

August 23, 2006

Overview: capital of Gyeonggi. The city has not only  history and culture, but also advanced science and technology, and home to Samsung and SK.

Victoria, Brazil

June 24, 2010

Overview: the city has 34 islands and the largest producer of  iron ore in Brazil.

Gavle, Sweden

August 10, 2010

Overview: an important harbor and livable city in Sweden, famous as the “Capital of European Geographical Information Industry”

Braunschweig, German

June 1, 2011

Overview:  a metropolis in the Middle Ages, a transportation hub for Berlin and Hamburg, and an important industrial city in Germany.

Zhukovski, Russia

August 27, 2012

Overview: the city was named after the founding father of modern aero- and hydrodynamic sciences, Nikolay Zhukovsky. This is the center of Russian aviation.

Zhuhai’s Hebin Park is home to a giant orange goat , featured in the Guinness Book of Records with a  height of 14.9-metres. It is a symbol of Gavle, Sweden, and was brought by the town’s mayor, Jorgen Edsvik, to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Goat at the 5th anniversary of the two cities’ partnership.

Gold Coast, Australia

November 16, 2012

Overview: a famous tourist city in Australia

Portsmouth, Britain

March 25, 2014

Overview: known as the “Hometown of Royal Marines”; the busiest port in the UK, a transportation hub for Britain and Europe, and developed in marine and tertiary industries.

Highlights

1. Zhuhai values City-to-city exchanges

Zhuhai’s sister cities are in Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Oceania. Surrey, Canada, was the first one, on July 8, 1987 Surrey, located near the Canada-America border, is famous for its parks and green space, and known as a “garden city”.

Zhuhai added two new sister cities around the turn of the century, and the number jumped to 6 from 2010-2014. Portsmouth, England became a new friend of Zhuhai on March 25, 2015.

“We live in a world that is beset by difficulties, most people cannot see the wisdom and courage of other cultures,” Jorgen Edsvik said. In his view, the root of difficulties is a closed mindset, and the right way to harmony is greater communication.

In recent years, Zhuhai had frequent exchanges and close cooperation with Gavle in culture, education, art and science. Last October, a Gavle rock band, Electric Religions, was invited to the 12th Zhuhai Beach Music Festiva. This year, The MUFF, a Zhuhai band, will head to the Etaway Music Festival in Gavle.

For Zhuhai, expanding international cooperation is a necessary measure to grasp opportunities. Qiu Shan, director of the International Economic Research Institute at Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, noted that as a supporting city to the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, city-to-city exchanges are important.

2. Sister cities share a lot in common.

Zhuhai is a famous tourist city, as are its sister cities, such as Gavle Sweden, Gold Coast, Australia, and Atami ,Japan. For example, Portsmouth has a group of colleges, universities and vocational schools, similar to Zhuhai, which ranks second in the province for higher education scale. Portsmouth, with rich experience hosting international events, including the International Kite Festival, Marine Festival, Volvo Ocean Race and Half-Marathon, can offer reference to Zhuhai, host-to-be of the Half-Marathon and Ocean International Music Festival.

Zhuhai is focused on building high-tech industry. Many of Zhuhai’s sister cities are well developed in high technology. For example, Suwon is the headquarters of Samsung and Zhukovski, with a world-leading Aerospace Research Center and the host of the Russian Aviation and Space Salon. All the resources of these cities will benefit industrial development in Zhuhai.

 “Generally, the sister-city relations are based on the similarity of development and resources. Zhuhai has a lot in common with its friends,” said Peng Peng, vice-chairman of the Experts Committee at South Nongovemmental Think-tank. City-to-city cooperation can be extended to enterprises, institutions, and social organizations, he added.

3. Mutual promotion expected.

Qiu Shan noted that establishing sister-city relations expands Zhuhai’s international influence . “Zhuhai aims to be an international livable city, which requires certain international clout, not only in economic support, but also cultural and social exchanges. City-to-city friendship will benefit it,” he said.

At present, cooperation among sister cities are mainly in people-to-people and cultural exchanges, with little in the economic area. Some experts suggest that the cooperation should be expanded to the economy.   

“In the era of globalization, economic and trade cooperation should be conducted on the basis of mutual benefit. Thus, the main role of such cooperation must be enterprises.  Both sides reach a cooperative relationship via independent management and decision-making, while the government may act as a go-between,” Peng Peng said.