On September 24, Guangzhou was awarded the "International Model Award of Excellence" at the 46th congress of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) which was being held in Kenya.
This was the first time for a PRC city to be rewarded by the international community for its efforts on global urban planning. The jury spoke highly of Guangzhou's ability to learn from the experience of other cities whilst adapting projects to local conditions.
It was in 2000 that Guangzhou first launched a series of new ambitious plans which improved and transformed the administrative structure of the city which now reached 7.5 thousand square kilometres.
Plans such as the Guangzhou Urban Construction Overall Strategic Planning, the Central Economic City in South China and the World's Cultural Cityset ambitious development targets which resulted a decade later with new CBDs such as Zhujiang New Town and Baiyun New Town, the Pazhou Exhibition Complex and the Higher Education Mega Centre.
