ABSTRACT
As 1997 approaches, scholars and others must finally confront the reality of the integrated nature of southern Guangdong, an integration that has come about despite the political boundaries and blinders of the past thirty-odd years. The British imperialists set loose processes that revolutionized life in the delta. Hong Kong also served as an escape valve for Guangdong and especially for the delta. The new attitude in Beijing toward increasing contacts with the world beyond the borders of the People’s Republic has enabled the Hong Kong-to-Guangzhou journey to be quickened from the all-day affair of the pre-1978 period to the three-hour express train journey from Hung Horn terminal in Kowloon to Guangzhou’s rail station. The economic reforms made possible the transferal of Hong Kong business operations to the delta, but it was Hong Kong’s shortage of cheap labor that made it an economic imperative for Hong Kong capitalists.
