To evaluate the pollution and ecological risk of trace metals in the forest parks of highly industrialized manufacturing Cities, soil from three different depths and plant root samples were collected in December 2020 from six major forests of Dongguan, China. The level of pollution in seven metals is decreasing in the following order: Zn>Cr >As>Pb>Cu>Ni>Cd. Elemental spatial and vertical distribution show that the degree of urbanization influences the extent of pollution. Moreover, the trace metals were intercepted at the soil's surface or sediment layer, becoming absorbed by roots of pines, trees, and ferns. The potential ecological risk of the metals was moderate-to-high ecological risk rank and followed the order: Cd>As>Cu>Ni>Pb>Cr>Zn. Source apportionment indicated that the Cd, As, Cu, Pb, and Zn might have originated from industrial activities, while Ni and Cr from natural sources. The amount of total metals in soils from forest were significantly associated with the accumulated twenty years’ gross industrial product (GDP) for secondary industries values and also the history of rapid industrialization. This paper reported for the first time the correlation between heavy metal pollution in forest soils and gross industrial product.