At present, there are more than 40 parks of creative industries in Guangzhou, with a combined total site area of approximately 33 million square meters and gross floor area of about 60 million square meters. These parks register annual sales in excess of RMB 15 billion. Take the Pacific Wharf for example. The pier had ceased operations before the revamping began and had losses of RMB 3.45 million, but its annual turnover is expected to top RMB 150 million after the revamping.

Cubic Eight is currently based on the former site of the Wanbao Cold Storage Machinery Plant. No humming machine can be seen inside the eight-meter-high workshop building. The building now houses a number of creative businesses.

According to the Guangzhou Economic and Trade Committee, the city has freed up a significant amount of land for the development of the high-end industries by phasing out industrial enterprises to make way for service business and by renovating old towns, villages and factories. Last year, more than 60 high-end service industry projects were launched on land plots vacated by industries enterprises. It's estimated that by renovating old towns, villages and factories, Guangzhou can free up about 10 million square meters of land every year, and the land, which will devoted to commercial development, is expected to attract investments of around RMB 100 billion.

Guangzhou is speeding up the renovation of urban villages and has rolled out a plan to renovate 138 such villages. At present, demolition is underway at nine urban villages located in major functional zones, including Linhe, Liede, Yangji and Pazhou villages. The innovation is expected to transform these villages into venues for the development of the high-end industries