Regional

Politics

Economy

Technology

History

Society

Culture

Cartoon

Videos

[Video] Eye on Guangdong series

Our sixth regional series, Eye on Guangdong, explores the province’s history as China’s gateway to the world, Cantonese culture and cuisine, Guangzhou and Shenzhen’s economic and technological rise, and much more!

2 Sep 2026

Culture

(Graphic: Teo Chin Puay)

(Teaser produced by Lingming Lu.)

How did Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou become the world’s number one tech hub?

The Global Innovation Index published by the World Intellectual Property Office puts the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster in first place. The tech hub’s unique combination of strengths has allowed it to surpass the usual suspects in Silicon Valley, observes academic Erik Baark in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

A robot staff member serves ice cream to visitors at Shenzhen Talent Park in Shenzhen, China, on 3 August 2026.
A robot staff member serves ice cream to visitors at Shenzhen Talent Park in Shenzhen, China, on 3 August 2026. (Liang Xu/Xinhua)

How Guangzhou and Shenzhen weathered Trump’s tariff storm

Guangzhou and Shenzhen, manufacturing and technology engines of Guangdong province, were hard-hit by Trump 2.0 tariffs, but they managed to bounce back or even hold steady with resilience under pressure. Economics professor Jiang Kun gives her analysis in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

A worker assembles Midea PortaSplit air conditioners for export to Europe at a factory in Guangzhou, China, on 7 August 2026.
A worker assembles Midea PortaSplit air conditioners for export to Europe at a factory in Guangzhou, China, on 7 August 2026. (Liang Xu/Xinhua)

[Video] Was Cantonese really the language of Tang poets?

With copious research into the vivid histories of Hong Kong and Guangzhou, academic Lian-Hee Wee and researcher Winnie HY Cheung trace a quirky timeline of the evolution of the Cantonese language in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

Signs advertising electronic items for sale in a computer centre in Hong Kong on 28 July 2026.
Signs advertising electronic items for sale in a computer centre in Hong Kong on 28 July 2026. (Peter Parks/AFP)

Truffles and gold leaf can’t save dim sum: What the masters know

However much dim sum — bite-sized morsels originating in Guangdong province — is reinvented, the patience and fortitude that goes into the craft and the sincerity of the hands that make it remain paramount, observes writer Tan Pin Yen in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

Get the Regional Series Newsletter

Sign up for ThinkChina Weekly Newsletter and receive our Regional Series straight in your inbox!

By subscribing, I agree to SPH Media's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Dim sum served at one-Michelin-starred Summer Pavilion.
Dim sum served at one-Michelin-starred Summer Pavilion. (Summer Pavilion)

Building for family glory: Guangdong’s architecture of success

The Chen Academy in Guangzhou and Ruishi Lou in Kaiping county were built with sophisticated techniques from wealth earned or migrant funds sent home. Architecture professor Ho Puay Peng takes us on a tour of these fine examples of Lingnan architecture in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

Jinjiangli village, with Ruishi Diaolou in the background.
Jinjiangli village, with Ruishi Diaolou in the background. (Photo: Stefan Fussan/Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

[Photos] Guangdong: Where China first looked outward

From an isolated southern frontier to China’s main gateway to the maritime world, Guangdong’s early encounters with foreign traders, armed sea powers and overseas migration laid the foundations for its later role as a cradle of reform. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao traces the early history of Guangdong in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

On 16 June 1924, Sun Yat-sen delivered an address at the opening ceremony of the Whampoa Military Academy. His wife, Soong Ching-ling, stands on his right, while the academy’s commandant, Chiang Kai-shek, is on his left.
On 16 June 1924, Sun Yat-sen delivered an address at the opening ceremony of the Whampoa Military Academy. His wife, Soong Ching-ling, stands on his right, while the academy’s commandant, Chiang Kai-shek, is on his left. (Photo courtesy of Hsu Chung-mao)

Rojak roots: What it means to be Singaporean

Cantonese and Hokkien, Malay and English; kampung food, Hong Kong television, Manchester United and the Catholic faith. Tracing the people, languages and cultures that shaped her, ThinkChina’s Candice Chan reflects on a thoroughly mixed — and thoroughly Singaporean — inheritance in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

Mum’s side of the family at a birthday celebration for gonggong, circa 1980s.
Mum’s side of the family at a birthday celebration for gonggong, circa 1980s. (Photo courtesy of Candice Chan)

Related: [Video] Eye on Fujian series | [Video] Eye on Shandong series

Popular This Month

Politics

[Video] Bilahari Kausikan: How to navigate the new world order

Politics

Bilahari Kausikan: How to think about foreign policy and geopolitics

Politics

Why Trump is ready to lose the midterms

Society

Passports surrendered: Inside China’s expanding web of exit controls

Politics

Iran misread what China meant by ‘strategic partner’