Water at the Heart: How One Town Built a 50-Billion-Yuan Grain and Oil Cluster

City Life | In the 1980s and 1990s, Machong in Dongguan was once a major banana-growing area in the Pearl River Delta, with waterways crisscrossing its farmland. Today, large cargo ships berth along the deep-water coastlines of Xinsha Port and Machong Port, while enclosed conveyor corridors move materials around the clock. So how did Machong transform itself over several decades — from banana cultivation to a major grain and edible oil processing hub? The answer lies partly in the evolution of the Pearl River Delta’s industrial and urban landscape. With its deep-water coastline and relatively abundant industrial land, Machong became a destination for the relocation of bulk grain and edible oil processing operations. Its ports serve as the core of a water-based logistics network that reaches deep into the Greater Bay Area and extends across eastern and northern Guangdong. This port-and-waterway hub has helped turn Machong into a major grain and edible oil logistics and processing center in South China.#citylife

上世纪八九十年代，东莞麻涌还是珠三角闻名的香蕉产区，河道纵横、田畴交错；如今新沙港与麻涌港区的深水岸线上，巨型货轮依次靠泊，密闭廊道昼夜不息。从香蕉种植到粮油加工，麻涌如何完成这场跨越数十年的产业转身？答案，就藏在珠三角城市群空间重组的逻辑之中。凭借得天独厚的深水岸线和相对充裕的产业用地，麻涌承接了大宗粮油加工的产业转移。不仅如此，以港口为圆心，水路物流为半径，麻涌的辐射力能向大湾区腹地乃至粤东粤北持续延伸。正是这种“以水为圆”的枢纽地位，让麻涌成为了华南地区举足轻重的粮油物流节点。

翻译：何捷（实习）

审校：罗洁

终审：王予湉