Life of Guangzhou - Designated Consulate Area Fails to Form Due to Location

Twenty-one years ago, the Guangzhou government planned to set up a special area for all overseas consulates located in Chigang (赤岗), Haizhu district in southern Guangzhou. However, no consulates are going to move or have ever moved to the area.

The designated consulate area (www.ycwb.com)

It failed to become a consulate area due to its inconvenient location, according to a representative of the Guangzhou Governmental People's Congress.

He said, for the convenience of transportation and for security reasons, consulates usually set up their offices downtown, with the shortest distance from airport. The planned consulate area in Haizhu district is situated in the southeast part of the city, very far from the Baiyun International Airport in the northwest of Guangzhou.

It has been learned that the area was planned as early as 1987. In 1994 the government began to remove other buildings to facilitate the necessary infrastructure, and by 1996 an empty green land with an area of 230,800 square meters was ready for the consulates. However, to date, no consulates have moved to the area.

Deng Weiqiang, secretary of the Haizhu district CPC, suggested setting aside the land as a park.

As of now, many consulates and commercial chambers in Guangzhou have built their offices in the downtown areas of Tianhe, Zhujiang New Town and Huanshi Lu.

(By Jessie Hwang, Stephen Roach)

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