ZHUHAI PEARL OF THE BAY

Text by Madeline Weng Photos by Zhuhai Tourism Board & VCG Translation by Sonia

ZHUHAI PEARL OF THE BAY

Text by Madeline Weng Photos by Zhuhai Tourism Board & VCG Translation by Sonia

Zhuhai is the welcoming harbour for those travelling away from home. She sees off adventurous young people to destinations faraway, giving them courage and strength; when it is time to return, she opens to embrace the home comers.

珠海：海灣明珠

珠海是游子的溫柔港灣。她將敢于開拓的年輕人送往遠方，賦予他們勇氣和力量；等到落葉歸根時，她再次敞開胸襟，擁抱歸家的人。

Zhuhai Grand Theater, China's only opera house built on an island.中國唯一建在海島上的歌劇院——珠海大劇院。

The fragrance of white magnolia fi lls the air in the early summer sunshine in Zhuhai. The sub-tropical coastal city has a mild climate, with scenery outside of every window and greenery everywhere.

Facing the South Sea, bordering Macau, and located at the estuary of the Pearl River D the unique geographical position contributes to the open cultural atmosphere in Zhuhai. Led by Rong Hong (1828-1912), Father of Chinese International Students, Zhuhai people were the fi rst to step out of the country to see the world. Rong became the fi rst Chinese student graduating from Yale University, creating the prevalent trend of studying overseas for the Zhuhai residents. Chen Fang (1825-1906), the wealthiest overseas Chinese merchant, started his business in Hawaii and returned to his hometown for disaster relief through spending huge amounts of money and re-building the village. Tang Tingshu (1832-1892), the national capitalist, created many fi rst times: fi rst self-built railroad, fi rst steam locomotive, fi rst public Chinese-English dictionary, and so on.

In fact, the genes of diligence and bravery in the Zhuhai people come from over six thousand years ago. The forefathers of Zhuhai farmed and reproduced on the land, creating a prosperous pre-historic oceanic culture. During the Han and Tang dynasties, Zhuhai was an important corridor for the Maritime Silk Road. After Tang and Song dynasties, Zhuhai became the origin of the Xiangshan culture. In 1557, Macau was launched as a harbour and Zhuhai became the port where Chinese and western cultures interchanged. In modern times, under the infl uence of wars, patriotic martyrs like Yang Paoan and Lin Wenhu stood out and wrote the grand heroic epic.

Every year, Beishan Music Festival draws some foreign bands to take part.每年，北山世界音樂節都會吸引一些國外樂隊參加。

What is most valuable is Zhuhai never forgets its root in the process of learning from the West. Every year on the Lantern Festival Zhuhai throws a folk art parade, showcasing traditional customs such as Doumen boat wedding, Shatian folk songs, Qianshan chicken dance, and so on. At the same time, modern musicians have found a way to integrate Chinese operas and jazz music: Beishan World Music Festival held in the Yang Ancestral Hall every year mixes modern music with the ancient village setting, a rather intriguing concept.

Zhuhai has the second highest number of colleges and universities in Guangdong and young entrepreneurs have been supported by the policy. The government offers small venturing loans and budgets for personal projects, sponsoring many incubators combining IT, fi lming, art and commerce. The vigorous and prosperous venturing atmosphere attracts more and more talents nationwide and world-wide to try their luck here.

In the 1980s, Zhuhai was appointed to be one of the four pilot-scheme Special Economic Zones. Now, as a crucial member of the Belt and Road and the Great Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, the port scale of Zhuhai is expected to develop drastically. As for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge scheduled to be completed at the end of this year, it will not only become the world's longest cross-sea bridge but also link one of the most active economic zones in the world. Travel time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong will be cut to 40 minutes; in the meanwhile, Zhuhai has formed a two-hour economic circle with the rest of the Pearl River Delta Area. Zhuhai, the precious pearl at the bay, is very likely to become the most important international port and logistics hub in South China.

With their dashing temper and tenacity, Zhuhai people have been through many obstacles and welcome good times. Given the people's unceasing efforts, Zhuhai has turned out to be a rising city with both cultural spirit and innovative future.

Luyi Ancestral Hall, located in Doumen, Zhuhai has a history of more than 500 years.位于珠海市斗門區南門村的菉猗堂已有500多年歷史。

Boat Wedding is a folk custom which has been popular for hundreds of years in Doumen.水上婚嫁是斗門流行了幾百年的傳統民俗。

珠海的初夏陽光里馥郁著白玉蘭的香氣。這個氣候溫和的亞熱帶海濱城市，坐擁一面宜居的海灣，推窗見景，俯首拾綠。

瀕臨南海，毗鄰澳門，地處珠江出海口——獨特的地理位置造就了珠海開放的人文氣質。以“中國留學生之父”容閎為首的珠海人率先走出國門看世界，成為中國第一個畢業于耶魯大學的中國留學生，為后來珠海濃重的留洋氛圍開導先河；華僑首富陳芳創業夏威夷，發家后返鄉耗巨資賑災、整理村容；“洋務派民族資本家”唐廷樞創下多個“第一”：第一條自建鐵路、第一臺蒸汽機車、第一部買辦英語詞典……

實際上，珠海人民勤勞勇敢的基因始于6000多年前。珠海的先民在這片熱土上耕耘繁衍，創造了繁榮的史前海洋文明；漢唐時期，它是“海上絲綢之路”的重要走廊；唐宋以后，珠海成為“香山文化”的發祥地；1557年，澳門開埠，珠海成為中西文化交匯的橋頭堡；到了近現代，在戰爭的洗禮中，楊匏安、林文虎等愛國烈士孕育而生，寫就了波瀾壯闊的英雄詩篇。

可貴的是，在西學東漸的過程中，珠海并沒有忘記自己的根。每年元宵節，珠海都會舉行民間藝術大巡游，原汁原味地展示“斗門水上婚嫁”、沙田民歌、“前山鳳雞舞”等傳統民俗。與此同時，新潮音樂家們也找到了中國戲曲與爵士樂融合的方式，每年在楊氏宗祠舉辦的北山世界音樂節，將現代音樂與古村落相結合，饒有趣味。

珠海擁有廣東第二多的高校數量，創業的青年才俊也得到政策支持。政府提供小額創業貸款和個人項目補貼等政策，并支持建立了眾多集IT、影視、藝術和商業的孵化器。蓬勃發展的創業氛圍吸引越來越多海內外人才在此一展拳腳。

改革開放后，珠海成為了中央試辦的四個經濟特區之一。而現在，作為“一帶一路”和“粵港澳大灣區”的重要一員，珠海的港口規模勢必迅猛發展。今年底即將建成的港珠澳大橋，不僅會成為世界上最長的跨海大橋，還將連接起世界上最有活力的經濟區之一——粵港澳大灣區。珠海和香港兩地的交通將壓縮到40分鐘車程；同時，珠海與珠三角其他地區也已形成了2小時經濟圈，珠海這顆不可多得的海灣明珠，有望成為華南地區最重要的國際港口物流中心之一。

憑著一股闖勁和一份韌勁，珠海人民走過了許多風雨，迎來了好時代。在珠海人民的不懈努力下，珠海儼然已經成為一個兼顧人文精神與創新前景的朝陽城市。