China / About the city
Introducing Shunde
Designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2014, Shunde is situated in the core area of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, bordering Guangzhou to the north and in close proximity to Hong Kong and Macao. It covers an area of 806 square kilometers, governs 4 sub-districts, 6 towns, and 206 villages (communities), with a permanent population of 3.229 million. More than 500,000 overseas Chinese have their ancestral roots in Shunde.
Boasting abundant and diverse historical and cultural resources, Shunde is the cradle of Cantonese opera and also enjoys the titles of "Hometown of Martial Arts" and "Hometown of Dragon Boats". Shunde is also the ancestral home of Bruce Lee.
It has a thriving manufacturing industry. One out of every three coffee machines exported from China comes from Shunde, and every 30 minutes a robot rolls off the production line here. One in every three microwave ovens in the world originates in Shunde — including the world's first aerospace microwave oven, now heating up meals for Chinese astronauts in space.
/ Climate & gastronomy
Challenges and actions
Shunde faces climate challenges tied to its low-lying river network, making it vulnerable to typhoons, heavy rain, and flooding, while heat stress threatens aquaculture.
In response, it has linked climate adaptation to its gastronomy sector: fish ponds are used as sponge-city storage to absorb floodwater, aquaculture insurance with automatic weather-triggered payouts protects farmers and stabilizes food supply, and green manufacturing plus prefab-food standards help buffer the food chain against climate shocks.
