The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area now has a new plan to boost growth. For the past couple of months, the region has been trying new ideas, many of them firsts for the country. Sun Ye reports.

Hong Kong engineer Li Zhijian used to spend weeks each year, just to secure a proper working permit for his job in Qianhai, a pilot zone in the greater bay area. Li says it was "a daunting challenge", which was erased once and for all in the zone, starting this year. And for the first time in the country.

LI ZHIJIAN ENGINEER, QIANHAI ENERGY LTD. "We don't need to apply for work permits anymore, and MORE benefits like the housing fund. I believe measures like these will bring more Hong Kong talents to settle here."

The area is offering everything from tax perks to start-up subsidies for talents. And it's speeding up in the scramble for the best people, including those from Hong Kong and Macao. In anticipation of what's to come in the greater merge for the greater bay area.

TIAN FU DIRECTOR, QIANHAI & SHEKOU FTA AUTHORITY "We think the Greater Bay Area now has a HISTORIC opportunity. It's going to further open up and upgrade, in the economic structure, in international cooperation, and in the governance system."

SUN YE GUANGZHOU "The Greater Bay Area straddles places at different development stages, with different industries and different political systems. According to the plan for coordinated growth, the area is projected to not only thrive even more on these differences, but also become a model of collaborative development for the entire country."

Being close-knit is nothing new in the region. Partnerships have been going strong for the last 40 years. But an expert says this time, there will be much more.

PROFESSOR ZHANG GUANGNAN INST. OF GUANGDONG, HONG KONG AND MACAO DEVELOPMENT, SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY "The bay area started to be linked in manufacturing and selling decades ago. But it's grown so much now it needs coordination in everything from medical resources, social, personnel management, to urban development. And the national blueprint, it's the kind of planning that gives real impetus to growth in China. And it WILL usher the area into a new development era."

And for people like the engineer Li, the message is clear: come. Sun Yue, CGTN, GUANGZHOU.