Geographical Advantages
Guangzhou is the largest coastal city in the south of China, just north of the Pearl River Delta, adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao. The city has a lot of rolling hills and its eastern and northeastern quadrants are mountainous areas with the central area terracing down to the south, where it meets the alluvial plain of the river delta. Its topography, with its major contrasts is very picturesque, adding to the charm of this bustling metropolis.

Environmental Protection
Guangzhou achieved significant results in cleaning up the local environment in 2006, investing over 91 billion RMB in environmental projects. There were 334 days with good air quality, up 0.5 percent from the previous year. In 2005, 252 dormant construction sites in the city were cleaned up, with 190 of them undergoing a "greening" treatment and/or dust-control treatment. In terms of water quality, 96.79 percent of Guangzhou's centralized drinking water supply met stringent city quality standards. Guangzhou also has five wastewater treatment facilities and a waste water treatment rate of 76.22%, which the city expects to improve upon with its ongoing sewage treatment and drainage works. With respect to noise pollution, Guangzhou has an ambient noise level of 55.2 decibels and a road traffic noise level of 69.3 decibels, well within acceptable parameters.

Banking and Insurance
Guangzhou is the financial center of Southern China and its financial and economic power ranks third in China. There are almost 2,600 various financial outlets, including bank branches, credit unions and trust companies in the city. At the end of 2006, savings deposit in RMB and foreign exchange in all financial institutions totaled 1.34 trillion RMB, an increase of 163.2 billion RMB over the previous year. RMB and foreign currency based loans amounted to 866.9 billion RMB, an increase of 115.6 billion RMB.

There are 30 foreign invested banks and representative offices operating in Guangzhou, including the Guangzhou Branches of the Calyon Corporate Investment Bank, Sumitomo Bank, Bank of America and Citibank. There are 142 insurance agencies and/or branches in the city, including 10 foreign owned insurance companies and/or representative offices. There are also four major securities companies and 108 securities dealer sites.

Science & Education
By the end of 2006, there were 60 universities and colleges in Guangzhou including Zhongshan University, the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, the Guangdong University of Technology and South China Normal University, which had 2006 enrollment of some 619,400 students, up by 11.7% and 122,900 million graduate students, up by 19.5%.

Science and technology are constantly developing in Guangzhou, with over 80% of all scientific and technological personnel in Guangdong Province having gathered in Guangzhou. There are 557 separate scientific research and development institutions, which have built cooperative relationships with over 200 scientific research institutions, colleges and academic groups in over 20 nations and regions worldwide. 

Government Efficiency
In recent years, government efficiency has been gradually enhanced and in 2006, the municipal government issued 8 new measures which significantly increased customs clearance efficiency and service levels. Guangzhou currently ranks 14th in the government efficiency rating system established by the World Bank. Guangzhou has expedited the transformation of its government functions to that of an "Online Government", thereby increasing its administrative efficiency through the use of information technology. The city has also built a system known as "Credit Guangzhou, which is a credit bureau system compatible with internationally accepted practices.

Furthermore, to help enterprises earn better returns on investment by bringing down operation costs, Guangzhou launched a pilot project it calls "No-Fee-Districts" (that is, no administrative fees) in 5 of its economic development zones.
 
In recent years, Guangzhou Customs has put forward a series of convenient measures for customs clearance. For example, it has tailored easy modes of customs clearance for over 150 foreign enterprises, putting forth 12 service measures including "24-hour Customs Clearance", "On-line Customs Declaration", "Scheduled Flight Services" and "Air-Land Thru-Traffic" to enhance the efficiency of the transfers at Baiyun Airport.