Dongguan

Dongguan is a major manufacturing city in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong province, sitting between Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Long known as the 'world's factory,' it produces a huge share of the globe's electronics, toys and garments, and is now upgrading toward high-tech industry around the Songshan Lake science park. The Humen district is historically significant as the site where Commissioner Lin Zexu destroyed British opium in 1839, sparking the First Opium War. The city has a young migrant population, a growing metro network and improving universities such as Dongguan University of Technology. Its warm climate, riverside parks and proximity to Hong Kong make it a practical base for trade and study.