Ringing the changes

Due to its location, the new area will act as a platform to promote new cooperation between Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong under the "one country, two systems" policy.

The 1,700-meter Lianhua Bridge already links Hengqin with Macao, while the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which is set for completion in 2015, will cut travel times to Hong Kong to 30 minutes by road, as opposed to one hour by boat.

According to Fan Hengshan, director of the National Development and Reform Commission's regional economy department, the pilot project will ease the land and workforce shortages in Hong Kong and Macao.

"The development relies on the money, techniques and experience from the surrounding areas, especially Hong Kong and Macao," he said.

Officials in Hengqin, which is three times the size of Macao and has a population of about 10,000, have already launched six huge projects and attracted 70 billion yuan in investment. (One of the projects is the 1.1-square-kilometer campus, which has been leased to the University of Macao for 40 years. The city's oldest college has found it increasingly difficult to house all 6,600 students and 400 teaching staff on its original grounds.)

According to the blueprint, the new area will increase its population by 120,000 by 2015 and 280,000 by 2020, with per capita GDP also expected to rise to 120,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan over the same periods.

New industries will focus on business services, leisure, tourism, education, high technology and research and development.

People living in the island's 10 villages say they have already started to see major changes, including the opening of branches by the Bank of China and China Post.

About 50 percent of residents are now building properties. Most four-story blocks have been torn down and replaced by new six-story blocks, and advertisements for apartments to rent are on view almost everywhere.

"There will be 120,000 people living here by 2015 according to the plan," said an excited Xu Jianxin. "Let's say 60,000 live outside Hengqin and 30,000 on the construction sites, that leaves 30,000 who need to find somewhere to live."

Ding Wenli, who arrived in Hengqin more than 18 months ago for the fishing, said the average price of a two-bedroom apartment has already increased from about 800 yuan a month in 2009 to 1,000 yuan this year.

"The natives seldom fish or farm anymore," said Ding, who is from Yangjiang in Guangdong. "With the houses they have, they're rich now."

Each household in Hengqin owns roughly 80 to 100 square meters of property and most are intending to make the most of it.

The reconstruction fever began in earnest two years ago when Guangzhou Chime Long Group opened negotiations with residents in two villages over demolition compensation, said Liu Shuqiong, who came to Hengqin with her husband and a 16-member construction team in 2006.

"That was when we knew the development plan was for real," she said. "About 20 to 30 bosses are now doing the business in Hengqin and each of them has a team of 40 to 50 workers," she said.

Liu said her team has worked on several projects in Shenzhen, a major city in Guangdong, since 1992 but added: "Business in Shenzhen has shrunk. After 2004, we could hardly find any work. That's why we came to Zhuhai."

The cost of building a six-story house in Hengqin is around 1,000 yuan per square meter and many residents insist on building higher properties, even those short on cash.

"They can either rent them out or get much more compensation once it gets demolished," said Liu, who originally hails from Sichuan province. She has invested in two houses in Hengqin, the profits from which she will split with village partners. "I've always followed the news about Hengqin's development," she added. "I think this place is the future of Zhuhai."

The Shizimen central business zone has also successfully attracted interest from five-star hotel chains including Sheraton and St. Regis, which both opened properties there.

Chime Long International Ocean Resort also brought eight beluga whales to Hengqin from Russia in August, with the aim of turning it into the Chinese water theme park.

For Hengqin residents who have waited for these developments their entire lives, the future looks very bright. "With help from the central government and the special policies, Hengqin will surpass Macao in five years, 10 at the most," said pensioner Lin. "I just hope I have the chance to see it myself."

(China Daily August 26, 2010)