Zhuhai

Zhuhai (lit. Pearl Sea) is a prefecture-level city on the southern coast of Guangdong province in 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 established in the 1980s. Zhuhai is also one of China's premier tourist destinations, being called the Chinese Riviera. Sites of interest are Fisher Girl Statue, Mysterious Island, New Yuanming Palace.

Picturesque fishing harbor Xiangzhou, with the forested Yeli Island in the background Zhuhai's attractive environment and surrounding landscapes help its reputation within China as a garden city and its quality of life. In 2002, the city attracted 1.3 million international tourists and 3.64 million domestic tourists. Following Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, Zhuhai has the largest amount of foreign tourism, which amounted to US$0.5 billion in 2002.

Realizing the substantial benefits brought by tourism, the local government is constantly improving the existing tourist spots and exploring new tourist resources. The local government is developing new tourist spots such as Hengqin Island, Dong'ao, Hebao and more.

Geography
Zhuhai borders the Macau Special Administrative Region (north and west), and 140 km southwest of Guangzhou. Its territory counts 146 islands and a coastline of 690 km. The islands within the prefecture-level city of Zhuhai include a number of near-shore islands, often connected to the mainland by bridges or causeways (such as Hengqin, Qi'ao, or Yeli Islands), as well as some islands further away in the Pearl River estuary (such as the Nei Lingding Island) or the open South China Sea (the Wanshan Archipelago). Some of the latter are actually geographically closer to Hong Kong than to the Zhuhai mainland.

Climate
Zhuhai has a humid subtropical climate affected by the East Asian Monsoon and moderated by the South China Sea, with long, hot and humid summers with frequent thunderstorms, and short, mild and dry winters. Average highs in January and July are 18°C (65°F) and 32°C (90°F) respectively. It never snows and a frost has never been recorded in the city centre. Conversely, extreme heat waves do not occur as they do further inland.