Guangzhou officials announced plans on Sept. 20 to build an "International health city" complex in Baiyun District in the northern part of the city. The project will take advantage of the favorable ecological conditions of Maofeng Mountain, Baiyun Mountain, Liuxi River, and the South Lake in the northern parts of Guangzhou. It will cover an area of nearly 20 square kilometers. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings will base its industrial park in the "Health Industry City", which is set to become the first facility on the project. Guangzhou has also drawn up a conceptual plan for the development of the "International health city", and is working on the final plan for the development of the project.

Guangzhou has set out to build its emerging strategic industries and has designated the "International health city" as a high-priority project in the city's 12th Five-Year Plan. And as contracted by the Guangzhou Municipal Government, Bizdao Consulting Co. has prepared an initial draft of the plan for the development of the industries. The formulation of the plan has taken two months.

According to the preliminary plan, Guangzhou will capitalize on the stimulatory effect Guangzhou Airport and the favorable ecological conditions of Maofeng Mountain, Baiyun Mountain, Liuxi River and the South Lake to consolidate the city's superior industrial advantages and build a "high-end medical service base, a national Traditional Chinese Medicine industrial base, a southern pharmaceutical innovation and R&D base, and a Pearl River ecological health nursing base".