It's been less than 40 years since the People’s Republic of China opened its doors to the world in 1979, but a lot has changed since then. This may be most apparent in the Pearl River Delta, which has witnessed expeditious urban expansion in the past several years and was recently named the biggest urban area in the world (in regard to the population and geographical size) by the World Bank.
To visually explore the PRD’s evolution, our friends at the Guardian have rounded up this striking collection of images to show how cities in the PRD have grown from rural villages into the metropolises they are today. In addition to mainland cities, Hong Kong and Macau are also featured in this photo roundup.
Hong Kong Harbour in 2015.
And in 1971.
Kowloon Pennisula in 2016.
And Kowloon in 1964.
Shenzhen's Luohu District in 2015.
Luohu in 1964.
Shenzhen's Shennan Lu in 2015.
And in 1985.
In 2015, Guangzhou's Sacred Heart Cathedral was hidden by a jungle of concrete.
In 1949, the Sacred Heart Cathedral towered over its surroudings.
Guangzhou Dadao Nan in 2015.
Guangzhou Dadao Nan in 1999.
Taken on Macau’s Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge in 2016.
Taken in 1991.
Macau's coastline in 2016.
Macau's waterfront in 1964.
READ MORE: PHOTOS: How China Has Changed in 100 Years
[Images via the Guardian, cover image via SCMP]
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