Before 1979,Zhuhai was a small, closed border town, with the total social production value of RMB 130 million and a population of 100,000.
    For over 20 years, Zhuhai, as a special economic zone, has made great achievements in its economy and social sectors in the process of reform and opening to the outside world by building the socialist market system and vigorously promoting international exchanges and cooperation. Nowadays, Zhuhai has set up a comprehensive export-oriented economic structure, with the industry as the key link and commerce and trade, tourism, finance, real estate, information, logistics and fishery in co-ordinate development. By the end of 2002, Zhuhai had RMB 108.2 billion of the fixed assets investment, with the industrial gross output value of RMB 79.1 billion, GDP, RMB 41.1 billion and per capita RMB 33.3000, ranking among the top in the province, and even the whole country and reaching the average level of the middle-income countries.

    Under the government guidance and strong support, five pillar industries have been rooted in Zhuhai; electronics and communications equipment manufacturing, electric machinery and its materials manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment manufacturing, petrochemical materials and products manufacturing as well as computer software. Meanwhile, modern agriculture and service industry are developing vigorously.