Pearl River Delta

The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; Chinese: 珠江三角洲城市圈; pinyin: Zhūjiāng Sānjiǎozhōu Chéngshìquān; Jyutping: Zyu¹gong¹ Saam¹gok³zau¹ Sing⁴si⁵hyun¹; Portuguese: Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, the region is one of the most densely populated and urbanized regions in the world, and is considered a megacity by numerous scholars. It is currently the wealthiest region in Southern China and one of the wealthiest regions in China along with the Yangtze River Delta in Eastern China and Jingjinji in Northern China. Most of the region is part of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, which is a special economic zone of China.

The region is a megalopolis, and is at the southern end of a larger megalopolis running along the southern coast of China, which include metropolises such as Chaoshan, Zhangzhou-Xiamen, Quanzhou-Putian and Fuzhou. The nine largest cities of the PRD had a combined population of 57.15 million at the end of 2013, comprising 53.69% of the provincial population. According to the World Bank Group, the PRD has become the largest urban area in the world in both size and population. The region's traditional language is Cantonese; in the late 20th century and the 21st century, due to the high inflow of migrant workers coming from other regions, Mandarin has gradually became a lingua franca.

The west side of this region, along with Chaoshan, was also the source of much Chinese emigration from the 19th to the mid 20th centuries, including to the Western world, where they formed many Chinatowns. Today, much of the Chinese diaspora in the US, Canada, Australia, Latin America, and much of Southeast Asia traces their ancestry to the west side of this region.