On August 26, 2010, the State Council released the "Overall Development Plan for Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen," marking the establishment of the Qianhai Cooperation Zone.
Located on the east coast of the Pearl River and west of the Nantou Peninsula, it originally covered an area of 15 square kilometers and consisted of three sections, namely Guiwan, Qianwan and Mawan. Planned, deployed and promoted by President Xi Jinping, the advancement of the development and opening of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone is a major measure of the country's reform and opening-up initiative in the new era.
On September 6, 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council officially released the "Plan for Comprehensively Deepening the Reform and Opening up of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone" (Qianhai Plan), providing a new major historical opportunity for the reform and development of Shenzhen and Qianhai in this new development stage. The Qianhai Plan clearly states that the geographical scope of Qianhai will be further expanded, and the total area of Qianhai will be expanded from 14.92 square kilometers to 120.56 square kilometers. Currently, Qianhai includes the Guiwan, Qianwan and Mawan areas covering the original 14.92 square kilometers, and now includes Shekou and the Dananshan and Xiaonanshan mountains area of 22.89 square kilometers, the Bao'an International Airport and its surrounding areas of 30.07 square kilometers, the central Bao'an District and the Dachan Bay area of 23.32 square kilometers, and the convention and exhibition new city and the marine new city area of 29.36 square kilometers.
After the expansion, Qianhai as an international bay area now has several core development elements such as an airport hub, a seaport hub, convention and exhibition business centers, and modern services. In terms of its environment, Qianhai is rich in mountain and sea resources, with 68 kilometers of coastline, 28 rivers emptying into the sea, 2 nature reserves, 8 city parks, and 3 islands; in terms of transportation, Qianhai has an international airport, 2 railway stations, 6 port terminals, 6 ports open to the outside world, 1 intercity rail, 7 metro lines, and 6 high-speed expressways (including 1 cross-border channel). The ecological and transport advantages provide strong support for Qianhai to deepen the area's reform and opening up.