‘Living in two worlds at once’: work in Hong Kong, live and play in Greater Bay Area
Regional cooperation is a key priority in Hong Kong’s first five-year plan. In the fourth of a five-part series on the plan, we look at how life in the Greater Bay Area can get better, with the right policies. Read part one here, part two here and part three here. Eager to escape Hong Kong’s suffocating housing conditions, university administrative worker Polly Chan decided in 2023 to rent a…
The Greater Bay Area (GBA) is a key initiative in Hong Kong's first five-year plan, aimed at improving life in the region by aligning the city's development with the national plan from 2026 to 2030. One of the ways this is being achieved is through work and leisure opportunities being extended beyond Hong Kong's borders. University administrative worker Polly Chan is one of many young Hongkongers experiencing this benefit, renting a weekend flat in Guangzhou to escape the city's high housing costs.
On weekdays, she lives with her mother in a small 300 sq ft flat in Tai Po, commuting two hours to her 1,000 sq ft flat in Guangzhou, where she enjoys a reading haven and a more affordable cost of living. The GBA offers an unprecedented palette of options for work, living, and leisure, with improved transport links and infrastructure development.
However, creating seamless integration will require policy breakthroughs, including unified healthcare standards and legal mechanisms, as well as streamlined transport links. Former chief executive Leung Chun-ying emphasized the need for specific district collaboration rather than a general approach, citing Hong Kong's comparative advantages in sectors like biotech, research, and professional services.
If the plan succeeds, the GBA will not only benefit young professionals but also retirees seeking dignity and financial comfort in their later life.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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