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Dongguan A Pearl River Delta, China story

Agriculture  / 
Cities  / 
Coasts
  1. Pearl River Delta, China
  2. Dongguan
Description

The urban growth in the PRD is vast. There are no longer any clear urban centers—a different growth trajectory from other large cities in China such as Beijing and Shanghai that have grown around defined historical urban centers.

Buildings and paved surfaces replaced vegetation at a rapid pace over the past three decades. Housing, factories, and the highway system all increased mostly at the expense of farmland.

In the early images of this series, cities are pink areas, separate from one another, among the green forested and agricultural areas. The largest city in this set of images is Dongguan. A noticeable change by the 1994 image is a road network beginning to connect those cities. The urban area soon begins filling in the former agricultural areas and surrounds the hilly forested areas.

In the southern part of the images, blue rectangles are aquaculture, and they are gradually pushed toward the coast by the expanding urban areas.

View Related Imagery & Stories

Location

Dec. 25, 1973, Landsat 1 (path/row 131/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Dec. 25, 1973, Landsat 1 (path/row 131/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Nov. 3, 1986, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Nov. 3, 1986, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Nov. 9, 1994, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Nov. 9, 1994, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Sept. 14, 2000, Landsat 7 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Sept. 14, 2000, Landsat 7 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Oct. 22, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Oct. 22, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Nov. 2, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Nov. 2, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Oct. 23, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Oct. 23, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Nov. 14, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Nov. 14, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Dec. 25, 1973, Landsat 1 (path/row 131/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China
Nov. 3, 1986, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China
Nov. 9, 1994, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China
Sept. 14, 2000, Landsat 7 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China
Oct. 22, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China
Nov. 2, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China
Oct. 23, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China
Nov. 14, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 122/44) — Urbanization around Dongguan, China

Pearl River Delta, China Additional Imagery & Stories

Bridge
Bridge

Cities that are growing this rapidly must also show accompanying infrastructure changes. The additions of bridges, highways, railroads, and airports a...

Read More
Guangzhou and Foshan
Guangzhou and Foshan

As an example of how the cities of the region have merged after the 1978 reforms, these images are a closer look at Guangzhou and Foshan. Even in 2000...

Read More
Industry
Industry

The PRD was mostly rural before the 1978 reforms began. The major industries were farming and aquaculture. The major crops were rice, sugar cane, pean...

Read More
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