Hot! Sweet! Trendy! Discover the Vibrant Charms of Guangdong's Dual-Million Metropolis

Traditional lion dance elements blend with cyber-electronic style,

representing Dongguan's ancient heritage and modern trends.

Always at the forefront of the times, how many treasures does Dongguan hold?

Located in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Dongguan is low-key yet profoundly rich in heritage: Among China's prefecture-level cities, apart from Suzhou, Dongguan is the only "dual-million city" with a GDP exceeding one trillion yuan and a population surpassing ten million.

The Humen Bridge spanning the Pearl River Estuary connects Dongguan and Guangzhou.

Though the Dragon Boat Festival has passed, the excitement of dragon boat racing in Dongguan remains undiminished—a level of passion and fervor unimaginable to northerners. The absolute superstar of网红 fruits, lychees, are now in season. A gentle squeeze of a freshly picked lychee sends juice spurting like a fountain, a rare delicacy seldom seen in the north.

Before the race begins, a specialist will dot the dragon head's eyes in a ceremonial ritual.

Photo by Zhu Manlin (RexChu)

With the presence of vivo, Huawei, and the Spallation Neutron Source, this manufacturing capital once known as the "World Factory" is now unleashing endless momentum in technological innovation.

Huawei's "European Town" by Songshan Lake,

is the company's largest global R&D base.

Dongguan is also a city for the young—80% of the world's anime derivatives are made in China, with over a third produced in Dongguan, earning it the title of "World Capital of Trendy Toys."

In June 2023, the "Fengwu Journey · Dongguan 2.0" by Didong Fengwu set off again (for the 2019 Dongguan Fengwu Journey, click here!). This time, the journey brought together knowledge influencers and industry experts to explore this understated yet trendy city hidden in the Greater Bay Area.

Fengwu Journey · Dongguan: Discovering a City of Wonders.

How passionate is Dongguan during dragon boat season?

"While the whole nation commemorates Qu Yuan during the Dragon Boat Festival, only the Cantonese—they genuinely want to fish him back!"

The Dongjiang River is Dongguan's mother river and one of the main tributaries of the Pearl River system. After flowing through Shilong Town, the broad Dongjiang merges into the intricate waterways of the Pearl River Delta, passing by homes in Dongguan's water towns. Many villages here are named with "涌 (chōng)" or "滘 (jiào)," meaning river branches or confluences.

The 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Guangdong) Dragon Boat Invitational kicked off in Shatian Town, Dongguan.

The intricate river network nurtures Dongguan's dragon boat culture. From the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, Dongguan enters its dragon boat season—not just a few days around the festival, but lasting until the 30th day of the fifth lunar month, nearly two months!

Influencers experienced dragon boat racing during the Fengwu Journey.

Locals joke that Dragon Boat Season is the most dreaded time of year for Dongguan bosses. Village chiefs often personally visit workplaces to request "dragon boat leave" lasting one or two months for team members, ensuring their full dedication to training for the competitions.

"You can quit your job, but you can't skip dragon boat racing!" For Dongguan residents, this festival surpasses even Chinese New Year in importance. Being selected for the village team is an honor that "brings glory to ancestors" – they're literally fighting for the pride of their entire community.

Here lies the most thrilling "flight on water".

Shatian Town, recognized as China's first "Hometown of Dragon Boats", made history in 1999 by forming the country's pioneering women's team. That same year, these trailblazers won three gold medals at the 3rd World Dragon Boat Championships in Nottingham, UK.

The women's team proves "heroines rival heroes".

On June 10th (Cultural and Natural Heritage Day), the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Dragon Boat Invitational saw 18 regional teams and 10 local crews transform the river into a scene of aquatic dragons racing. In a dramatic finale, Dongguan's Zhongtang Team clinched victory with a 0.327-second comeback – a six-year dream realized.

Dongguan's championship team: Zhongtang.

Photo by Zhu Manlin (Rex Chu)

Unlike northern ceremonial "paddling performances", Dongguan worships dragon boats as sacred. On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, villagers conduct the "Awakening the Dragon" ritual: elders lead the retrieval of boats from riverbeds, followed by attaching ceremoniously stored dragon heads and tails from ancestral temples.

Villages retrieve their dragon boats from riverbeds,

a ritual called "Awakening the Dragon".

No discussion of dragon boats is complete without mentioning Dongguan's "Dragon Boat Rice". Custom dictates that waterside towns rotate hosting dates by tidal patterns: Wanjiang on the 1st, Daojiao on the 2nd, Hongmei on the 3rd... creating a 16-day floating feast across the countryside.

Serving Dragon Boat Rice becomes the ultimate hospitality. This glutinous rice dish, stir-fried with cured pork, dried shrimp, cuttlefish and mushrooms, provides competitors with dense, energy-packed sustenance.

Roast suckling pig and Dragon Boat Rice are banquet essentials.

Wanxianglou restaurant innovated further by creating Dragon Boat Rice Noodles.

The upgraded version is a full Dragon Boat Banquet. Each dish carries auspicious meanings – the ever-present roast pig symbolizes "winning honors" in races.

June brings lychee season, and Dongguan in this golden production belt speaks with authority. Crowned "China's Lychee Hometown" in 2001 (Guangdong's first), even gourmet Cai Lan praised: "After tasting lychees across Lingnan, Dongguan's remain unmatched."

June sees Dongguan's branches heavy with lychees.

Dongguan's lychee fame? A "haute couture" approach prioritizing quality.

Over 80% of local varieties are premium-grade. Beyond familiar Feizixiao and Nuomici, unique local cultivars include: Lingfengnuo (Daling Mountain's velvety-sweet variant), rose-scented Guanxiangli, jade-green Guanyinlv from ancient forests, and consistently excellent Tangxiahong with fire-red rinds.

How many of these 8 types of lychees have you tried?

Among the dazzling array of lychee varieties, Bingli stands as the undisputed top-tier choice. Priced at 380 yuan per jin, with a single fruit costing up to 16 yuan, it exemplifies the concept of "premium lychees from Dongguan."

However, high prices are not the goal for Dongguan's lychee farmers—quality is the ultimate pursuit. Leveraging the city's strong manufacturing heritage, Dongguan has established an efficient industrial production and sales process for lychees.

Piles of fresh lychees await packaging and shipment.

This year marks a bumper harvest for lychees. In Dalingshan Town, the branches of fruit trees bend under the weight of crimson lychees. Every day at dawn, before the sun rises, farmers busily harvest the fruit, then swiftly package and ship them to ensure nationwide delivery within a day, allowing people across the country to savor Dongguan's sweet delicacy.

A gentle squeeze makes the lychee burst with juice on the spot.

Faced with mountains of lychees, we were fortunate to enjoy a rare "lychee freedom" seldom experienced in the north. According to Qing Dynasty archives, the governor of Fujian once presented lychees to Emperor Qianlong, who received only six after distributing them—a luxury even the emperor rarely enjoyed, let alone worrying about "heatiness"!

Food influencer Huang Kuaikuai picks and eats lychees straight from the tree, achieving lychee freedom.

Not only are the lychees delicious, but even the firewood from lychee trees is a treasure. Burning almost smokeless, it is the ideal fuel for making roast goose. The goose is stuffed with honey-infused marinade, and its skin is evenly coated with malt sugar syrup. As the goose rotates over lychee wood flames, its plump skin gradually turns a tempting reddish-brown, carrying a hint of lychee fragrance. This is Dalingshan lychee wood roast goose, a Dongguan municipal intangible cultural heritage item.

Under the flames, the roast goose skin glistens enticingly.

The roast goose alone is an unparalleled delicacy, but Dongguan's food lovers have paired it with a golden companion: laifen (rice noodles).

"Lai" refers to a technique where rice slurry is dripped through a perforated tool, resulting in noodles that are softer and smoother than regular rice noodles. When laifen meets roast goose, it's a match made in culinary heaven. A bowl of roast goose laifen in the arcade-lined Zhenhua Road of old Dongguan embodies the city's purest culinary charm.

Pork intestines, roast goose laifen, goose gizzard, goose wings, goose intestines, char siu, roast goose...

At Zhongshan Restaurant on Zhenhua Road's historic street,

A table is laden with an array of dishes.

Why is Humen the gate of awakening?

Humen, guarding the Pearl River estuary, has been a vital maritime trade route since ancient times due to its strategic location. For every Chinese, this is a name that should never be forgotten.

Goods depart from Humen Port (now Dongguan Port),

Directly reaching Hong Kong International Airport.

On June 3, 1839, Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu publicly destroyed over 2.37 million jin of confiscated opium on Humen Beach, a process lasting 23 days until June 25, known as the "Humen Opium Destruction." Enraged, the British launched the Opium War in 1840, making Dongguan the starting point of modern Chinese history.

Setting sail from the Taiping Maritime Office, retracing Lin Zexu's path of the Humen Opium Destruction.

We boarded a boat from the Humen Taiping Maritime Office and sailed along the Taiping Waterway, retracing Lin Zexu's path of the Humen Opium Destruction. It felt like stepping onto the front lines of history, as a magnificent panorama of that era slowly unfolded before us.

Boarding a vessel from the Taiping Maritime Office to set sail,

the staff are explaining the important landmarks we will see along the way,

evoking a sense of heroic spirit akin to "pointing out the rivers and mountains, stirring words with passion."

Before the Opium War, the Qing military established three lines of fortifications at Humen on the Pearl River estuary and across the river in Nansha, Guangdong, forming what was then the most rigorous coastal defense system in all of China. From the Pearl River estuary northward, the Shajiao and Dajiao Forts constituted the first line of defense, followed by the Gonggu, Yong'an, Hengdang, Zhenyuan, and Weiyuan Forts on Nanshan as the second line, and finally the Dahu and Jiaomen Forts as the third line.

When the British launched their full-scale attack on February 26, the forts of Humen's second line of defense fell in just seven hours, leading to the heroic martyrdom of Guan Tianpei, the provincial naval commander of Guangdong (equivalent to the highest-ranking naval officer in the province).

This map was drawn by Guan Tianpei in 1836,

missing the Jingyuan Fort built in 1839 on the second line of defense.

What was the reason for this? The cannons displayed in the courtyard of the Opium War Museum provide a clue.

The cannons used by the Qing army were not only cumbersome in appearance but also had extremely small calibers, with surfaces riddled with uneven pockmarks. Historical records indicate that the iron cannons cast in Foshan before the Opium War were "filled with excessive slag, uneven inner barrels, and numerous holes." One cavity was even large enough to hold four bowls of water!

The Weiyuan Fort guarded the second line of defense in Humen.

In contrast, British cannons were not only compact but also exhibited the smooth beauty of industrial production. With the naked eye, one could see the stark contrast between the aging Qing Empire and the industrialized Western powers.

He Senbao is explaining the disparity between British and Qing artillery during the Opium War.

Yet it was also in Humen, at the Opium Destruction Pools near the entrance of the Opium War Museum, that Lin Zexu's destruction of opium demonstrated the Chinese nation's resolve to resist foreign aggression. As inscribed on the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square:

"Eternal glory to the people's heroes who laid down their lives in the many struggles against foreign and domestic enemies, for national independence and the freedom and happiness of the people, dating back to 1840!"

A statue of Lin Zexu in front of the Opium War Museum.

Dongguan is both the gate of awakening and the land of heroes.

The Humen Bridge bears witness to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Looking up from the Weiyuan Fort, where Qing forces once resisted foreign invaders, the towering Humen Bridge looms clearly overhead. Completed in 1997, this bridge spans the Pearl River, connecting Humen Town and Guangzhou's Nansha District, with its 15.76-kilometer length making it the "longest span in China" at the time. The bridge's position aligns precisely over the site of the Weiyuan Fort, underscoring the strategic importance of this location.

During this cultural journey, "Local Flavors and Treasures" specially arranged a unique forum dialogue at the birthplace of modern Chinese history. Teacher Gao Qingyi remarked: "In Dongguan, the starting point of modern history, we first realized that backwardness leads to vulnerability and understood the importance of technological innovation—this is the very meaning of the 'Gate of Awakening.'"

Some influencers and expert speakers at the symposium,

Top left: Zhanyan; Top right: He Senbao;

Bottom left: Gao Qingyi; Bottom right: Professor Zhou Chunshan from Sun Yat-sen University.

Dongguan, located near Hong Kong, is a famous hometown for overseas Chinese. Its residents, adept at seizing opportunities, leveraged this exceptional geographical and cultural advantage early on. Five months before the reform and opening-up, the Taiping Handbag Factory in Humen pioneered the development of export processing trade, becoming a landmark symbol of Dongguan as a forerunner in reform and opening-up—a milestone in China's modernization journey.

Though named "handbags," the factory produced undeniably stylish luggage, many designs of which remain fashionable even today.

Forty years ago, the Taiping Handbag Factory could already manufacture such trendy luggage.

As reform and opening-up progressed, Humen once again became a bridgehead connecting China to the outside world. Today, along Dongguan's coastline near Humen, a new Binhaiwan New Area has taken shape. Since its construction began in 2017, only six years have passed. Measured in human terms, it’s just a child starting elementary school—yet it represents Dongguan’s boundless future possibilities.

Dongguan’s future holds infinite potential.

Photography by Zhu Manlin (RexChu).

Just how trendy are Dongguan’s local specialties?

What defines a city’s core landmark? For most cities, it might be towering skylines like Beijing’s China Zun or Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl Tower. But for Dongguan, it’s different.

Basketball and trendy toys embody Dongguan’s youth and vitality.

Along Dongguan Avenue, the city’s busiest thoroughfare, stands a 12-meter-tall Laura basketball sculpture, symbolizing the youthful energy of this hub for trendy toys and basketball. Dongguan’s average population age is just 33.4—even younger than the city itself (Dongguan became a prefecture-level city in 1988), making it the second-youngest city in China after Shenzhen. At night, the X11 trendy toy store near Laura becomes the hottest spot for young people.

X11, Dongguan’s trendiest destination.

The boundless creativity in young minds thrives thanks to Dongguan’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem, turning ideas into reality. Statistically, Dongguan is the undisputed global capital of trendy toys: 80% of the world’s anime merchandise is made in China, with over a third produced in Dongguan.

Traditional Chinese aesthetics can also blend with trendy toys.

More impressively, Dongguan isn’t just a manufacturing hub for foreign brands—it has forged its own path in IP creation. In Shipai Town, 28 large-scale trendy toy companies operate, accounting for half of Dongguan’s total. Among them, five companies manage around 30 original IPs, such as the well-known Laura and AngelBoy from Dongguan’s homegrown brand Toycity.

An original IP named FUFU.

Typically, selling a collectible figure takes half a year from pre-order to delivery. But in Toycity’s factories, with industrial assembly lines running at full speed, a new trendy figure can go from design to market in just 60 days. Rooted in a toy industry that produces a third of the world’s output, Dongguan’s trendy toys also showcase "Dongguan Speed."

On the factory assembly line, trendy toys are being meticulously assembled and processed.

"The Trisolarans say Dongguan is important!"

From data and industrial perspectives, Dongguan is highly competitive. Chang'an Town alone has a GDP nearing 90 billion, surpassing many prefecture-level cities.

GDP rankings of Dongguan's top 10 towns and streets.

As a traditional manufacturing hub, Dongguan is not content with past achievements. It is upgrading labor-intensive industries, leveraging its location in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Innovation Corridor to transition from "manufacturing" to "smart manufacturing."

In 2009, vivo was established in Chang'an Town, Dongguan. With advancements in 6G systems, in-house chips, and imaging algorithms, it has grown into a leading tech company in Dongguan and nationwide.

A tour of vivo's headquarters production line.

Following Chang'an Town on the GDP rankings is the Songshan Lake High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, located at Dongguan's geometric center. Since its inception in 2001, its role has been clear: not just a larger industrial park, but a modern city with strong innovation capabilities, advanced manufacturing, high-tech industries, and an eco-friendly core.

In vivo's quality lab, fatigue testing is being conducted on smartphone buttons.

Huawei's arrival boosted Songshan Lake and Dongguan's electronics and IT sectors—over 30 companies invested here, and 100+ local firms joined Huawei's supply chain. Huawei played a pivotal role in shaping Songshan Lake.

At Huawei's "European Town" (Xili Back Slope Village), 12 architectural clusters modeled after Oxford, Paris, and Heidelberg create an immersive "time-travel" experience, attracting countless visitors.

No, this is Huawei's "European Town."

This dreamlike setting, surpassing many tourist spots, is actually Huawei's largest global R&D base. Twelve teams working on terminals, communications, and cloud research operate in this Hogwarts-style town, even commuting by mini-train.

Huawei employees commute daily on these mini-trains.

Also by Songshan Lake, amidst lush lychee groves, lies China's first and the world's fourth spallation neutron source. A top "11th Five-Year Plan" project, it shares the spotlight with the 500-meter "China Sky Eye" radio telescope.

If the "China Sky Eye" gazes into the vast cosmos, the spallation neutron source explores the tiniest micro-worlds—a "super microscope" probing material structures with subatomic neutrons.

The core of the spallation neutron source,

evoking a Chinese cyberpunk aesthetic reminiscent of *The Wandering Earth*.

Leveraging the neutron source's analytical power, the Songshan Lake Materials Lab transforms cutting-edge advancements into practical products. The 21st century belongs to materials science—in *The Three-Body Problem*, Wang Miao was hunted for his research in this field.

Real-life "Wang Miaos"—staff at the spallation neutron source.

On this basis, He Senbao vividly imagined: if the story of "The Three-Body Problem" were real, Dongguan, home to the Spallation Neutron Source and the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, would undoubtedly be a prime target for the Trisolarans.

The China Spallation Neutron Source located in Songshan Lake.

Pragmatic, inclusive, youthful, innovative... In six days and five nights, we "commando-style" toured over ten towns and streets in Dongguan. Yet, the brilliance of this trendy city remains far from fully explored!