In early winter, Bao’an District is warm and bustling with business opportunities.
From November 27 to 28, the 2025 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Investment Promotion Conference and the Ceremony Marking the First Anniversary of the Mayang Chamber of Commerce in Shenzhen was held in Bao’an District, Shenzhen.
Over the two days, Bao’an District and Mayang, centering around the “Orange Loong”, a mascot innovatively created by Mayang, successively launched activities such as “Mayang Country Market in Shenzhen”, Mayang investment promotion activities, the 2nd General Conference of the 1st Membership of Mayang Chamber of Commerce in Shenzhen, and cross-regional symposiums.
This investment promotion event, themed “Shenzhen and Mayang Going Hand in Hand”, connects the two regions that are thousands of miles apart. It has not only introduced the ecological treasures and folk customs of the Miao ethnicity to the Greater Bay Area, but also built a solid bridge for ethnic solidarity, industrial collaboration, and resource complementarity between the two regions through in-depth exchanges and cooperation in thought, culture, and industry.
A Mayang country market in the Greater Bay Area: Where business opportunities lie
“I hereby announce the opening of the Mayang country market in the Greater Bay Area as well as the official launch of the cultural exchange activities between Shenzhen and Mayang.” Early on the morning of November 27, as the announcement was made, Mayang’s longevity culture, Miao ethnic customs, loong boat culture, and high-quality characteristic agricultural products such as sugar oranges were introduced to the Greater Bay Area.
Unlike previous investment promotion activities that prioritized economic development over cultural exchanges, this time Mayang has elevated ethnic cultural performances and intangible cultural heritage art display to the same important status as investment promotion.
To allow consumers in the Greater Bay Area to more directly experience Miao customs, Mayang held such folk activities as the lanmenjiu ceremony (rice wine party), Miao drum performance, Huadeng opera, and pounding ciba (a traditional Chinese snack made of glutinous rice) on the site, and displayed dozens of featured products including Miao silver ornaments, handmade brown sugar, selenium-rich rice, high-mountain tea, and traditional Miao medicine. Five core experience zones were carefully set up, including the food zone, intangible cultural heritage zone, photo zone, cultural tourism exploration zone, and lucky draw zone.
“The sugar oranges and honey are sweet and delicious, and the cured meat and sausages are so savory and chewy!” Liu Huan, a Shenzhen resident, along with her two friends, praised the event as “fun and interesting with amazing food offerings”.
Xu Caifeng, another Shenzhen resident, was also impressed by Mayang’s high-quality products: “The Mayang goose is incredibly spicy, and intangible cultural heritage products and folk products such as Miao embroidery, Miao ornaments, and paper cutting are amazing.”
The bustling country market has further strengthened the bond between Bao’an and Mayang. The country market is deeply ingrained in the memory of the Chinese people. It is not just a platform for exchanging goods, but also a carrier of cultural heritage and emotional connection.
Zhou Yu, Party Secretary of Fuzhongfu Community, Xixiang Subdistrict, Bao’an District, Shenzhen, said: “The Mayang country market allows us to experience the ethnic customs of Mayang right here in the Greater Bay Area. These exhibits, carrying the fragrance of the earth and the warmth of the people, are not only the crystallization of the wisdom of the Mayang people, but also a bridge for cultural exchanges between the two regions.”
During the two-day exhibition, Mayang’s high-quality characteristic agricultural products were favored by many. A number of enterprises reached a preliminary cooperative intention with supermarkets, restaurant chains, and supply chain enterprises in Shenzhen. The head of a Shenzhen-based outlet of Nong Geng Ji, a restaurant chain that serves Hunan cuisine, signed long-term supply agreements with two agricultural product enterprises in Mayang on the spot, planning to include Mayang’s selenium-rich vegetables and ecological livestock products in their food procurement system. A cross-border e-commerce platform in the Greater Bay Area partnered with the Mayang Chamber of Commerce to bring more Mayang specialty products to the global market through online channels, thereby achieving the mutual development of Mayang and the Greater Bay Area.
The chamber of commerce serves as a bridge: From emotional connection to win-win cooperation
In August 2024, Mayang Chamber of Commerce in Shenzhen was officially founded, becoming Mayang’s first non-local chamber of commerce in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It serves as a warm home for Mayang natives living far from home and a solid bridge for economic and cultural exchanges between the two regions.
Over the past year, the chamber of commerce has actively built a platform for government-enterprise cooperation, organized more than 20 inspection visits to Mayang for Shenzhen entrepreneurs, and facilitated the implementation of more than 10 cooperative projects, practicing the concept of “Shenzhen and Mayang Going Hand in Hand” with practical actions.
Based on such hometown bonds, Hunan Hexiaoxian Food Technology Co., Ltd. was officially established on November 28, dedicated to introducing selenium-rich agricultural products such as Mayang sugar oranges and yellow peaches, Mayang’s longevity culture, and Miao ethnic customs, to households throughout the Greater Bay Area.
Head of the company Liu Yan said: “Hexiaoxian was founded based on hometown bonds and a sense of commitment. We will fully leverage Shenzhen’s e-commerce advantages and utilize new methods such as community marketing and live commerce to quickly broaden the reach of high-quality Mayang products.”
“The chamber of commerce is like a bridge that connects hearts. It serves as a home for Mayang natives in Shenzhen and provides a platform for cooperation between the two regions,” said Wang Shan, Chairman of the Mayang Chamber of Commerce in Shenzhen. Wang Shan added that the chamber of commerce will continue to leverage its role as a bridge in the future. It will help channel Mayang’s high-quality resources to the Greater Bay Area and introduce more Mayang products to Shenzhen and the world. It will also actively guide Shenzhen enterprises to contribute to Mayang’s rural revitalization and industrial upgrading, promote the two-way flow of production factors such as talent, technology, and capital between the two regions, and achieve “resource sharing, complementary advantages, and mutual benefit”.
At the cross-regional cooperation symposium themed “Deepening Integration and Making the Future Together”, government and business representatives conducted in-depth discussions on key areas such as health care, deep processing of selenium-rich agricultural products, and rural tourism development.
At the symposium, Mayang Changhe Group signed a cooperation agreement with Shenzhen Bailuge Culture Media Co., Ltd., and Mayang Jinxin Smart Operation Co., Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement with Shenzhen Shengfa Technology Co., Ltd. The contracting parties will build consensus, reinforce resource complementarity, and achieve win-win development.
Cross-provincial collaboration: Fruitful results in investment promotion
Mayang is located within the Huaihua-Jishou-Tongren 30-minute economic circles. The Baotou-Maoming Expressway, Zhijiang-Tongren Expressway, Zhangjiajie-Jishou-Huaihua High-speed Railway and other main transportation lines run through the county, and the Huaihua Zhijiang Airport, Tongren Fenghuang Airport, and Xiangxi Biancheng Airport are adjacent to the county. The planting area of sugar oranges across the county reaches 285,000 mu (19,000 hectares), with an annual output of 530,100 metric tons. The city boasts the Miso Qingmiao Hot Spring and Tianmu Yunduan Hot Spring with extremely high water quality. The county records good air quality for 99.2% of the days per annum, and all surface water and drinking water sources meet water quality standards. It is therefore reputed as a “World Longevity County” and national natural selenium-rich land.
The fragrance of sugar oranges fills the Greater Bay Area. As regional competition heats up, Mayang is keenly aware of its status as an underdeveloped region and recognizes that its core competitiveness lies in the unique land, ecological, and cultural resources.
During the investment promotion session, Mayang did not try to cover everything. Instead, it provided the entrepreneurs present with a deeper insight into its unique advantages and development potential in light industry, ecological agriculture, health and wellness culture, and tourism as well as preferential policies and key projects related to land, taxation, and investment.
At the signing ceremony, eight key cooperation projects were signed, covering multiple fields such as low-altitude economy, smart city, and digital cultural tourism. Once implemented, these projects will accelerate the optimization and upgrading of Mayang’s industrial structure.
Mayang County, a blessed land where talents gather, is writing a new chapter in development in the Greater Bay Area. The collaboration between the two regions has not only boosted the reputation of Mayang as a “Longevity County” and Miao culture in the Greater Bay Area, but also forged a solid bond of ethnic solidarity across provinces and regions.
(Translated by Professor Yu Jie)