Photo courtesy of Nanfang Plus

It's been more than three years since the central authorities published the development plan of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on Feb. 18, 2019. Since then, Luohu has been trying its best to build itself into an "all-embracing hub of the Greater Bay Area" to assume its part in the plan.

Apart from the Greater Bay Area development plan, the country's decision to build Shenzhen into a zone piloting socialism with Chinese characteristics, the city's reforms, and the development of the northern part of Hong Kong that borders Luohu create opportunities for the development of the district.

According to Shenzhen's 14th five-year plan (2021-25), Luohu was earmarked to become a pioneer district pursuing sustainable development and a demonstration district for Shenzhen-Hong Kong coordinated social development to support the integration of Hong Kong and Macao into the national development.

The district vows to strengthen its roles as a hub of transportation, exchanges, and consumption to upgrade its connectivity and promote its synergy with the rest of the GBA.

Over the past three years, the Shenzhen Railway Station in Luohuhas been connected with the national high-speed railway network, and the construction of the Luohu North Station has accelerated. Meanwhile, Luohu is actively integrating with Hong Kong’s planning and development in its northern part. Furthermore, the Liantang Port was put into operation, handling about 1,400 vehicles a day, and the density of city rails in Luohu rose to the 2nd among all districts in the city.

The 14th five-year plan for the comprehensive transportation of Luohu proposes to create transportation infrastructure to link Luohu to the outer city areas and airports within 30 minutes and the urban centers in the Greater Bay Area in 60 minutes. In addition, the tourism circle, economic circle, and partnerships will bring ongoing vitality to the development of Luohu.

Luohu attaches great importance to realizing institutional connectivity with Hong Kong.It is building a pilot zone of high-quality Shenzhen-Hong Kong port economic belt.

About 40,000 Hong Kong residents live and work in the district.Luohu knows that the key to building an "open, inclusive, and deeply integrated" hub is the integration of people. Therefore, the district offers employment subsidies of 20,000 yuan ($3,172) to 50,000 yuan to young people from Hong Kong and Macao with a bachelor's degree or above and living subsidies of 60,000 yuan to qualified professionals in finance and taxation.

The district government introduced the guidelines for the establishment of Hong Kong-invested catering enterprises for the first time in China, and thedistrict government's employment and enterpreneurship plan customized for Hong Kong and Macao residentshas attracted more than 200 professionals from the two special administrative regions.

The district also takes the lead in making breakthroughs in facilitating the practice of overseas professionals, improving the cross-border connection mechanism of medical services, and creating a high-quality living circle for people from Hong Kong and the rest of the world.