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Dongguan (old spelling Tung-kuan) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. An important industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the south, and Foshan to the west. It is also home to the world's largest shopping mall, South China Mall. City administration is considered especially progressive in seeking foreign direct investment (see below). The three neighboring municipalities of Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Shenzhen are home to over 25 million residents, accounting for a large proportion of the Pearl River Delta's population.
Administration
* Dongcheng District
* Wanjiang District
* Nancheng District
* Mayong Town
* Shilong Town
* Humen Town
* Daojiao Town
* Shijie Town
* Hongmei Town
* Liaobu Town
* Dalingshan Town
* Dalang Town
* Huangjiang Town
* Zhangmutou Town
* Fenggang Town
* Tangxia Town
* Qingxi Town
* Changping Town
* Qiaotou Town
* Hengli Town
* Dongkeng Town
* Qishi Town
* Shipai Town
* Chashan Town
* Chang'an Town
* Gaobu Town
* Shatian Town
* Wangniudun Town
* Xiegang Town
* Zhongtang Town
* Houjie Town
Geography and climate
The urban center of Dongguan is 50 km away from that of Guangzhou to its north, 90 km away from Shenzhen to its south, 47 sea miles away from Hong Kong and 48 sea miles from Macao by waterway. Dongguan is a must-pass-by locality from Guangzhou to Hong Kong by road or waterway.
Demographics
Dongguan has around seven million inhabitants, although many are not official city residents. Many of the manufacturing facilities of the Dongguan area attract workers from far away towns and provinces, but these workers often cannot obtain official city residency. Such workers typically live in company supplied apartment buildings and visit their hometowns once or twice a year[citation needed].
Dongguan is also a known hometown for many overseas Chinese, the root for over 700,000 people in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao and over 200,000 nationals living abroad.
Travel and transport
Many foreign travelers to Dongguan fly into Hong Kong, which allows visa-free entry to holders of US, Canadian and most European passports. After landing, visitors may apply for a visa to enter the rest of China. US Passport holders need a China Entry Visa to proceed to any location in Mainland China.
One can travel from Hong Kong to Dongguan by bus, ferry, or train. Passengers travelling overland must disembark from their transport at the Hong Kong/China border to go through customs and immigration, except for those traveling on the Mass Transit Railway intercity services (former Kowloon-Canton Railway) from Hung Hom Station to Dongguan, Guangzhou and beyond.
Depending on the time of day, using the ferry may be the most convenient way to travel from Hong Kong, as it allows one to avoid long queues at the land border checkpoint between Hong Kong and mainland China.
Rail services in and out of the city call at Dongguan railway station where there are direct train services to Guangzhou East railway station in Guangzhou; and Hung Hom Railway station in Hong Kong.
The Humen Pearl River Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Pearl River. Completed in 1997, it has a main span of 888 m.
Foreign direct investment
City administration is considered especially progressive in seeking foreign direct investment. In 2005, the city hosted the first-ever Sino-American Forum of Intellectual Property Rights, co-organized by the Patent Protection Association of China - PPAC and the International Association for Technology Trade - IATT? as well as what has been identified as the world's largest educational technology conference and expo, co-organized by IATT and the International Society for Technology in Education - ISTE, attracting nearly 40,000 attendees in its first year.
The Dongguan Science & Technology Museum (opened in December 2005), the high tech commerce park in the SongShan Lake district (which debuted in 2003) and a partnership with the Global IT Academy of the Brea Olinda Unified School District in Southern California have demonstrated the city's emphasis on attracting technology business. The city also announced in 2005 a planned investment of US$500-Million over five years for technology infrastructure improvements.
While the city is the third largest exporting region in China, behind Shanghai and Shenzhen (and a major center for Taiwanese investment), outside of China, Dongguan has yet to gain the kind of name recognition realized by Shenzhen (just an hour away, and down-river from Dongguan). This may be because the city has placed an emphasis on investing in infrastructure, rather than directly targeting major corporations with financial incentives for economic development. Still, Dongguan has been identified by high level representatives of the National Development and Reform Commission - NDRC of the central government as being one of the most significant growth regions for technology in the coming years.
Get in
By plane
The city is about one hours drive away from Shenzhen and Guangzhou's Baiyun airports. You can catch a train or bus from these cities.
By bus
The most popular method for Hong Kong locals to travel to Dongguan is by bus. There are several companies that offer bus travel to Dongguan from Hong Kong. Prices are usually $80-100 for a one-way ticket or $150 for a two-way ticket. Travel times usually range from 1.5hrs to 2.5hrs depending on traffic conditions. If you are traveling from another part of China, you can also travel to Dongguan by bus, most major cities in China will have bus routes to the Dongguan Main Bus Station in NanCheng.
By boat
One of the less used ways to get to Dongguan from Hong Kong is by ferry. This allows you to avoid the queues at the busy customs checkpoints on the border between Hong Kong and mainland China.
See
Dongguan has an exhibition center that houses many exhibitions and conferences.
Do
People watching
Cheap pedicures and massages
Spas
Most 4 Star hotels will have various "proper" massage and sauna services for upwards of 150RMB. However, if you are looking for "other" kinds of service, they will are usually avaiable for 600 to 800RMB.
* The Spa at Hyatt Regency Dongguan, Hyatt Regency Dongguan Hotel, Song Shan Lake Central District, Science and Technology Industrial Park, Qinyuan Road, +86 769 2289 1234 (info.regencydongguan@hyattintl.com).
Buy
Dongguan is well known for its Huanghe Fashion Town located in the Humen District along Renming Road, Renyi Road, Jinglong Road and Yinglong Road. The district houses one of China's largest clothing and textile wholesale markets, which extends over an area of about one square kilometre. Many of the products sold there are exported to Hong Kong and the rest of the world. Everybody can enjoy low wholesale prices, even when buying in small quantities.
Drink
The most popular bars are on or around "Bar Street"(Ju Ba Jie) in DongCheng(East City) in DongGuan City. A popular hangout for expats is Beijing Bar, although if you prefer more local hangouts, BB and V8 are also quite popular clubs each with a dance floor.
However, like many parts of China, various kinds of "services" are popular, including prostitution; one should be careful with local girls if they seem to be getting too friendly if you are not looking for such services.
