Guangzhou, China is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The sprawling port city is located northwest of Hong Kong on the Pearl River. The “Village in the City” documentary offers a glimpse into the changing lives of the farmers who live in the city.
Several years ago the city was a farming city. Now, it has some avant-garde architecture as the Zaha Hadid Opera House, the carved box-shaped Guangdong Museum, as well as the iconic Canton TV Tower skyscraper.
At the moment, the city is the third most-populous city in mainland China, right behind Beijing and Shanghai. With a population of 14 million in 2016, the city is one China’s five National Center Cities.
For many years, Guangzhou was the only Chinese port permitted for most foreign traders. Everything changed during the First Opium war, when the city proper fell to the British and was opened. Today, the city is home to the oldest and largest trade fair in China, the Canton Fair. From 2013 to 2015, the city was ranked as the best commercial city on the mainland in China by Forbes.
