Southern China's Guangdong Province continues to set the pace for cities of the future. Once known exclusively for manufacturing, areas like Huizhou are integrating technology, ecology and innovation to advance economic development. CGTN's Lindy Mtongana visited Tonghu Town in Huizhou to see the latest and greatest from Guangdong's Silicon Valley.  

Guangdong's largest freshwater wetland provides a unique ecological backdrop to the Province's new smart city - Tonghu Sci-Tech Town. It's the flagship project of the Huizhou Ecological-Smart-Zone. And what better way to explore it, than by hopping on board one of its unmanned cars! From big data to artificial intelligence, Tonghu Sci-Tech Town is well on its way becoming a world-class gathering place for innovative high-tech industries. 'Guangdong's Silicon Valley' is already home to domestic and foreign high-tech firms, including Fortune 500 giant, Cisco Systems. Once completed, this 8-square-kilometre multi-purpose ecological landscape will have office parks, schools, hospitals, hotels and shopping malls. An all-in-one solution for work and play. But how does all this smart-city tech come together?

XIANG JUNBO, GENERAL MANAGER CITY-INDUSTRY INTEGRATION DEPARTMENT "In this town, all the air conditioners, electrical appliances, street-lights and cameras - all these terminal devices connect to our data centre via sensors. It's then managed and run through professional software and the data is passed on to our smart-city's management control centre. That's what you see on the big screen."

Huizhou's economy has always thrived on manufacturing. But this bold move towards high-end technology will change the city's future development.

XIANG JUNBO, GENERAL MANAGER CITY-INDUSTRY INTEGRATION DEPARTMENT "The building of Tonghu Sci-tech town is positioned to drive the transformation of Huizhou, to contribute to a more complete and diverse economy, that includes research & development and design."

And the economic potential goes beyond Huizhou. Tonghu Sci-Tech Town feeds into China's national plans for the development of the greater Pearl River Delta, and the "Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao" Greater Bay Area.

XIANG JUNBO, GENERAL MANAGER CITY-INDUSTRY INTEGRATION DEPARTMENT "We're just beginning to explore the possibilities of smart eco-cities. And we hope that the development of Tonghu Sci-Tech Town will become a reference for China's future city construction."

LINDY MTONGANA GUANGDONG PROVINCE "Tonghu Sci-Tech Town is a model for the future of urban design and development in China. And while we might not know what tomorrow holds, one thing is clear: The future of China's major urban centres is bright, green and smart."