The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GD-HK-MO; ) also referred to as the Greater Bay Area (GBA), is a megalopolis, consisting of nine cities and two special administrative regions in South China. It is envisioned as an integrated economic area aimed at taking a leading role globally by 2035. It is the largest and most populated urban area and it is among the four largest bay areas in the world, comparable with the bay areas of New York City, Tokyo, and San Francisco. The GBA – with a total population of approximately 71.2 million people (5% of China's total population) – includes nine mega cities of Guangdong province: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing as well as two special administrative regions, Hong Kong, and Macao (Macau). Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have been described among the world's 50 "superstar cities". Surrounding the Pearl River Delta with a total area of 56,000 km2 (corresponds to the area of Croatia), it is the largest and the richest economic region in South China. The GBA's combined regional GDP is US$1,641.97 billion in 2018, which is equivalent to 12 percent of GDP for all of China and would rank the GBA as the 12th biggest economy in the world. As one of China's most vibrant and important regions, the GBA has the highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country and houses a majority of China's most innovative technology companies, such as Huawei, ZTE, DJI, and Tencent (parent company of WeChat). GBA has a rich ecosystem of startups, incubators, and accelerators in the fields of agile tech, biotech, medical tech, and innovation. For these reasons, many experts consider the region an emerging Silicon Valley of Asia. Given traditional divisions between the provincial and municipal governments and business elites, there are some opinions that the ambitious idea behind the GBA might be difficult to implement. Definition and historical development The "Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area" is sometimes confused with the area of the Pearl River Delta and Guangdong province. While the geographical term “Pearl River Delta” was coined in 1947 reflecting the region's rich and diverse local histories, the term “Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area” refers to a much larger area. Within the discourse on regional planning and mega-city positioning, the Pearl River Delta's spatial structure has been contoured and realigned according to changing administrative boundaries, economic productivity, and infrastructural