Pearl River mega-city is a description of an urban planning project to create a mega-city comprising some of the cities in the Pearl River Delta

Pearl River Delta

The Pearl River Delta , Zhujiang Delta or Zhusanjiao in Guangdong province, People's Republic of China is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea...

 region of Guangdong Province, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

The city will include the current major cities of Guangzhou

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

, Shenzhen

Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

, Jiangmen

Jiangmen

Jiangmen , is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong province in southern China with a population of about 4.48 million in 2010. The 3 urban districts are now part of Guangzhou - Shenzhen built up area.-Names:...

, Huizhou

Huizhou

Huizhou , historically known as Waichow, is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen...

, Zhongshan

Zhongshan

Zhongshan , also spelled Chungshan and historically known as Xiangshan or Siangshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province in southern China. Zhongshan, one of the few cities in China with an eponymous name, is named after Dr. Sun Yat-sen who was...

, Dongguan

Dongguan

Dongguan 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 the Pearl River to...

, Zhuhai

Zhuhai

Zhuhai is a prefecture-level city on the southern coast of Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in the Pearl River Delta, Zhuhai borders Jiangmen to the northwest, Zhongshan to the north, and Macau to the south. Zhuhai was one of the original Special Economic Zones...

, Foshan

Foshan

Foshan is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper ....

, and Zhaoqing

Zhaoqing

Zhaoqing is a prefecture-level city of Guangdong province in southern China.-Geography:Zhaoqing is located 110 km northwest of Guangzhou, in the west Pearl River Delta. It lies on the north shores of the Xijiang River, which is flows from west to east, and opposite of Gaoyao...

. The mega-city will be linked by inter- and intra-city subways belonging to the Guangzhou Metro

Guangzhou Metro

Guangzhou Metro is the metro system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, after those of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.The earliest effort of preparation...

, Foshan Metro, Shenzhen Metro

Shenzhen Metro

The Shenzhen Metro is the subway or underground system for the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, China. The system opened on 28 December 2004, making Shenzhen the seventh city in mainland China to have a subway after Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dalian, and Wuhan. The Shenzhen...

, and the under construction Dongguan Metro

Dongguan Rail Transit

Dongguan Rail Transit or Dongguan Metro is the metro system of the city of Dongguan in Guangdong Province of China. Dongguan Rail Transit's will be operate by the state-owned Dongguan Rail Transit Corporation, Limited...

 as well as intercity and high speed railways such as the Guangzhou–Zhuhai Intercity Mass Rapid Transit, Guangzhou–Shenzhen Railway, and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link

Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Hong Kong Section is a proposed high speed railway connecting Kowloon with the high-speed rail network of China at Shenzhen...

 to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

which is currently under construction. The scheme will create a 16000 square miles (41,439.8 km²) urban area that is 26 times larger geographically than Greater London, or twice the size of Wales.

The project is titled "Turn The Pearl River Delta Into One" or 珠三角将成为世界最大城市 in Chinese.

Controversy

The project has been officially denied by some Chinese ministries, while confirmed by others. Mr. Ma, the chief planner at the Guangdong Rural and Urban Planning Institute, said the city will far outstrip Greater London or Greater Tokyo because 'there is no one city at the heart of this megalopolis'. The spokesperson for the Guangdong Provincial Committee flat out denied that plans were in place to merge the cities into a super-sized metropolis, admitting only that the province was improving the integration of infrastructure, industries, urban-rural planning, environmental protection and basic public services.