Fiction: Group 3
Trip to the Pearl River Delta
Maryknoll Convent School (Secondary Section), Chan, Amelie - 15, Fiction: Group 3
8
th
March to 28
th
March, 2035
I travelled to several different places in the Pearl River Delta.
After a short flight, I arrived in Guangdong. Because of Guangdong's geographical location and it was
connected to other parts of China, the area was an important stop in the famous Silk Road as far back as the
13th century.
The automatic door to the exit opened, and with a heavy heart, I stepped out of one of the largest and most
grand airports in Guangdong. The Pearl River Delta was now linked to nine major cities. It was now a
100-million people mega-city, which is twenty-six times larger than London. The city was prosperous and
noisy as ever.
My friend who lived there, Qing Xi, was waiting for me at the door. We hoped on a bus and went sight-
seeing.
She smiled wryly, “The cities lying along the Pearl River Delta was packed with people, but it can only
sustain 1 per cent of the population out of its own water resources. The increasing population, the powering
of machinery for production of factories has put a heavy pressure on energy production and especially, the
water resources here.”
“The countryside where I lived in is already converted into industrial and commercial land,” Qing Xi
added, “We had nowhere to go. Reclamation and deforestation is serious. Forests are disappearing.”
All that the cities in Pearl River Delta has, is money. A large knowledge city in Guangzhou is created in
cooperation with Singapore. Economic liberalization is adopted in the past years, and the main cities along
the Pearl River Delta has become major players in the world market. All that the cities in Pearl River Delta
has, is money.
The most valuable thing of all, is the cultural diversity there. This element is why people from all over the
world come here. Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shenzhen culture are the three main cultures in the Pearl
River Delta.
“In recent years, our region has become modernized and a lot of foreign cultural influences have been
flooding in.” Qing Xi added. “The true identity, our original cultures are fading away in this modern,
cosmopolitan region.”
Yes, globalization can enable markets in the world to gather closer together, stimulates the flow of capital
and information, but it will bring about negative impacts. The true identity—the main cultures of the Pearl
River Delta has been slowly dissolving and disappearing.
Ten years later, I will come back. Will there be a new story? Will they stop cutting the trees and keep the
forests?
2
nd
June to 12
th
June, 2045
Trip to the Pearl River Delta
A decade later, I went back to the strange yet familiar region—The Pearl River Delta.
My friend Qing Xi has already moved away from the region.
I stepped out of the Guangdong airport again, and I looked up to the sky. However, I couldn’t see one. It
was blocked and covered by skyscrapers. There were tens and hundreds of them. However, there were only
a few cars on the street. Smog filled the air and everything looked grey and gloomy. No people were
walking on the streets.
Choking and coughing, I hailed the only taxi in sight and headed straight to my hotel. “Sorry,” the
receptionist greeted me. “There are no water available.”
That’s when I realize that a drought is going on here. Not much people were in the hotel. There were only
a few. No electricity was available. All energy resources were used up.
The government has failed to achieve a balance between environmental conservation and economic
development. The countryside—the forests, the beaches once I’ve been to were nowhere to be found. What
I found there, once my home, were all skyscrapers and more skyscrapers. My heart was beating fiercely. This
could not happen. Who—had torn down the forests and the countryside? Who—had took away the homes
to those animals who lived here? Who—had destroyed the beautiful picture of the Pearl River Delta?
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