Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major
sub-provincial
A sub-provincial division () in China is a prefecture-level city governed by a province promoted by half a level. Thus, it is half a level under the provincial level (hence the name sub-provincial) but half a level above the prefecture-level.
T ...
city and one of the
special economic zones
A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
of China. The city is located on the east bank of the
Pearl River
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
on the central coast of southern province of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
, bordering
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
to the south,
Dongguan
Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...
to the north, and
Huizhou
Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in central-east Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Heyua ...
to the northeast. With a population of 17.56 million as of 2020, Shenzhen is the third most populous city by urban population in China after
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. Shenzhen is a global center in
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
,
research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
,
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
,
business and economics
Business economics is a field in applied economics which uses economic theory and quantitative methods to analyze business enterprises and the factors contributing to the diversity of organizational structures and the relationships of firms with ...
,
finance
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
,
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
and
transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
, and the
Port of Shenzhen
The Port of Shenzhen is a collective name of a number of ports along parts of the coastline of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. These ports as a whole forms one of the busiest and fastest growing container ports in the world.
The port is h ...
is the
world's fourth busiest container port. Shenzhen is classified as a Large-Port Megacity, the largest type of port-city in the world.
Shenzhen roughly follows the administrative boundaries of
Bao'an County
Bao'an County, formerly named Xin'an County, was a historical county in South China. It roughly follows the administrative boundaries of modern-day Hong Kong and the city of Shenzhen. For most of its history, the administrative center of the cou ...
, which was established since imperial times. The southern portion of Bao'an County was seized by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
after the
Opium Wars
The Opium Wars () were two conflicts waged between China and Western powers during the mid-19th century. The First Opium War was fought from 1839 to 1842 between China and the United Kingdom, and was triggered by the Chinese government's cam ...
and became Hong Kong, while the village of Shenzhen was situated on the border. Due to the completion of a
train station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...
that was the last stop on the Mainland Chinese section of the
railway between Guangzhou and Kowloon, Shenzhen's economy grew and became a market town and later a city by 1979, absorbing Bao'an County for the next decade.
In the early 1980s,
economic reforms
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...
introduced by
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
resulted in the city becoming the first special economic zone of China due to its close proximity to Hong Kong, attracting
foreign direct investment
A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct co ...
and migrants searching for opportunities. In thirty years, the city's economy and population boomed and has since emerged as a hub for technology, international trade, and finance. It is the home to the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE; ) is a stock exchange based in the city of Shenzhen, in the People's Republic of China. It is one of three stock exchanges operating independently in Mainland China, the others being the Beijing Stock Excha ...
, one of the
largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization and the
Guangdong Free-Trade Zone
Guangdong Free-Trade Zone (Guangdong FTZ, colloquially known as 广东自由贸易区/广东自贸区 in Chinese), officially China (Guangdong) Pilot Free-Trade Zone () is a free-trade zone in Guangdong province, China. It is a free-trade zone near ...
. Shenzhen is ranked as an Alpha- (
global first-tier) city by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershi ...
. Its nominal GDP has surpassed neighboring cities of
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
and Hong Kong and is now among the top ten cities with the largest economies in the world. Shenzhen also has the
eighth most competitive and largest financial center in the world, the eighth-most
Fortune Global 500
The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by ''Fortune'' magazine.
Methodology
Until 1989, it listed onl ...
headquarters of any city in the world,
fifth-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world,
the second largest number of skyscrapers of any city in the world, the
28th largest scientific research output of any city in the world, and
several notable educational institutions, such as
Shenzhen University
Shenzhen University (SZU, Chinese: 深圳大学) is a municipal public research university in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. The university is funded by the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government.
Location
SZU comprises two campuses, Houhai cam ...
,
Southern University of Science and Technology
Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) ) is a public research university in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It changed its English name from South University of Science and Technology of China (SUSTC) to Sout ...
, and
Shenzhen Technology University
Shenzhen Technology University (SZTU; ) is a public university located in Pingshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of t ...
.
Due to the city being a leading global technology hub, Shenzhen has been dubbed by media ''China's
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
''. The city's entrepreneurial, innovative, and competitive-based culture has resulted in the city being home to numerous small-time manufacturers or software companies. Several of these firms became large technology corporations such as phone manufacturer
Huawei
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
, holding company
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
, and drone-maker
DJI
SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. or Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies Ltd. ( zh, c=深圳大疆创新科技有限公司, p=Shēnzhèn Dà Jiāng Chuàngxīn Kējì Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) in full, more popularly known as its trade name DJI, which s ...
. As an important international city, Shenzhen hosts numerous national and international events every year, such as the
2011 Summer Universiade
The 2011 Summer Universiade ( zh, c=2011年夏季世界大学生运动会, p=Èr líng yī yī Nián xiàjì shìjiè dàxuéshēng yùndònghuì), the XXVI Summer Universiade ( zh, c=第二十六届夏季世界大学生运动会, p=Dì Èrshíl ...
and the . Shenzhen's rapid success has resulted in the Chinese government turning Shenzhen into a model city for other cities in China to follow.
Toponymy
The earliest known recorded mention of the name ''chen'' could date from 1410, during the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
. Locals call the drains in paddy fields "Zhen" (). Shenzhen was named after a deep () drain that was located within the area."
History
Prehistory to Ming era
![南头古城南门2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/%E5%8D%97%E5%A4%B4%E5%8F%A4%E5%9F%8E%E5%8D%97%E9%97%A82022.jpg)
The oldest evidence of humans in the area on which Shenzhen was established dates back during the mid-
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
period.
Since then, this area has seen human activity from more than 6,700 years ago, with Shenzhen's historic counties first established 1,700 years ago, and the historic towns of
Nantou Nantou may refer to:
* Nantou County (南投縣), a county in central Taiwan (Republic of China)
* Nantou City (南投市), seat of Nantou County, Taiwan
* Nantou (historical town) (南头), a historic town and former administrative center of Xin' ...
and
Dapeng Dapeng or Da Peng may refer to:
*Peng (mythology) or Da Peng, mythological bird
*Dapeng (state) (大彭), a state during the late Shang dynasty
*Dapeng Peninsula (大鹏半岛), in the east of Shenzhen
*Dapeng Subdistrict (大鹏街道), Longgang D ...
, which was built on the area that is now Shenzhen, established more than 600 years ago.
The
Hakka people
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhe ...
also have a history in Shenzhen since 300 years ago when they first immigrated.
In 214 BC, when Emperor
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...
unified China under the
Qin Dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...
, the area went under the jurisdiction of the established
Nanhai Commandery Nanhai Commandery ( zh, 南海郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty. At the greatest extent, Nanhai's territories covered present-day Guangdong, Hainan, southeastern Guangxi and the southern tip of Fujian. The s ...
, one of the three
commanderies that were set up in
Lingnan
Lingnan (; Vietnamese: Lĩnh Nam) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as modern northe ...
, and was assimilated into
Zhongyuan
Zhongyuan (), the Central Plain(s), also known as Zhongtu (, lit. 'central land') and Zhongzhou (, lit. 'central region'), commonly refers to the part of the North China Plain surrounding the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River, centere ...
culture.
In 331 AD, the
Eastern Jin
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air L ...
administration split up Nanhai and established a new (东官郡).
[Brief History of Shenzhen](_blank)
, Shenzhen Government official website. The seat of both the commandery and Bao'an County, one of its six counties, was located around the modern town of Nantou. In 590, the
Sui administration merged the region back into Nanhai. In 757, the
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
administration renamed the county Dongguan, and moved its seat to what is now
Dongguan
Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...
city, although a military garrison remained.
During the
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
, Nantou and the surrounding area became an important trade hub for salt and spices in the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
.
[Rule, Ted and Karen, "Shenzhen, the Book", Hong Kong 2014] The area then became known for producing pearls during the
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
. In the early
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
era, Chinese sailors of a fleet would go to a
Mazu
Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. Re ...
temple in
Chiwan
Chiwan (; Cantonese: Chik Wan) is a bay area surrounded by Chiwan hill at the east, Xiaonanshan hill at the north, and Ying Zui hill at the southeast, in Nanshan district, Shenzhen, China.
Chiwan Port
Chiwan Port () or Chiwan Container Ter ...
(in present-day
Nanshan District) to pray as they go to
Nanyang
Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to:
Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean)
* Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea
;China
* Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...
(
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
). The
Battle of Tunmen
The Battle of Tunmen or Tamão was a naval battle in which the Ming imperial navy defeated a Portuguese fleet led by Diogo Calvo in 1521.
Background
Portuguese diplomat Fernão Pires de Andrade arrived at the mouth of the Pearl River in June ...
, when the Ming won a naval battle against invading
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, was fought south of Nantou. In 1573, the Ming administration established Xin'an County, based in Nantou, which had authority over regions that would be Shenzhen and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. Xin'an County's economy primarily was based on the production and trade of salt, tea, spices, and rice.
Qing-era to 1940s
To prevent a rebellion from
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
loyalists under
Zheng Chenggong
Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...
, better known as Koxinga, on the Chinese coast, the recently established
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
administration
resettled coastal residents inland and re-organized coastal counties.
As a result,
Xin'an County
Xin'an County () is a county in the west of Henan Province, bordering Shanxi Province to the north across the Yellow River. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Luoyang, and contains its northernmost point.
History
In an ...
lost two-thirds of its territory to the neighboring
Dongguan County
Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...
and was later incorporated into Dongguan in 1669, though Xin'an was restored about 15 years later, in 1684. After the Qing dynasty was defeated by the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
s,
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
and the
Kowloon Peninsula
The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong, alongside Victoria Harbour and facing toward Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon are collect ...
were separated from Xin'an and ceded to the British in the
Treaty of Nanking
The Treaty of Nanjing was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese later termed the Unequal Treaties.
In the ...
and the
Convention of Peking
The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. In China, they are regarded as amon ...
. On 21 April 1898, the Qing government signed a "Special Article for the Exhibition of Hong Kong's Borders" with the United Kingdom, and leased the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
from Xin'an to the United Kingdom for 99 years.Xin'an was briefly occupied by a British force under the command of
Henry Arthur Blake
Sir Henry Arthur Blake (; 8January 184023February 1918) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British colonial administrator and Governor of Hong Kong from 1898 to 1903.
Early life, family and career
Blake was born in Limerick, Ir ...
, the
governor of Hong Kong
The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...
, for half a year in 1899.
From the of territory that Xin'an held before the treaties, of the county was ceded to the British.
![Opening_of_Chinese_Section_of_the_Canton-Kowloon_Railway_02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Opening_of_Chinese_Section_of_the_Canton-Kowloon_Railway_02.jpg)
In response to the
Wuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan), Hubei, China on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last i ...
in 1911, Xin'an residents rebelled against the local Qing administration and successfully overthrew them.
In the same year the Chinese section of the
Kowloon–Canton Railway
The Kowloon–Canton Railway (KCR; ) was a railway network in Hong Kong.Legislative Council information paper CB(1)357/07-08(0 THB(T) CR 8/986/00, CB(1)1749/07-08(0/ref> It was owned and operated by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC ...
(KCR) was opened to the public, and the last stop of the Chinese side,
Shenzhen Railway Station
Shenzhen railway station (, formerly Shum Chun station), also unofficially known as Luohu railway station (), is located across from Luohu Commercial City in Nanhu Subdistrict, Shenzhen, Nanhu Subdistrict, Luohu District of Shenzhen, Guangdong an ...
, had opened in Shenzhen, helping the town's economy and opened Shenzhen up to the world.
In 1913, the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
administration renamed Xin'an County back to Bao'an County to prevent confusion from
another county of the same name in
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
Province.
During the
Canton–Hong Kong strike
The Canton–Hong Kong strike was a strike and boycott that took place in British Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Canton), Republic of China, from June 1925 to October 1926.Jens Bangsbo, Thomas Reilly, Mike Hughes. 995(1995). Science and Football III: Pr ...
, the
All-China Federation of Trade Unions
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is the national trade union center of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest trade union in the world with 302 million members in 1,713,000 primary trade union organizations. The ACFTU ...
set up a reception station for strike workers in Hong Kong in Shenzhen. Strike workers were also given pickets and armored vehicles by the strike committee to create a blockade around Hong Kong. In 1931,
Chen Jitang
Chen Jitang () (January 23, 1890 – November 3, 1954), also spelled Chen Chi-tang, was born into a Hakka Chinese family in Fangcheng, Guangxi. He joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance in 1908 and began serving in the Guangdong Army in 19 ...
and his family established several casinos in Shenzhen, the largest of which being
Shumchun Casino. While only in operation until 1936, they significantly increased
KCR's passenger traffic to and from Shenzhen.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
occupied Shenzhen and
Nantou Nantou may refer to:
* Nantou County (南投縣), a county in central Taiwan (Republic of China)
* Nantou City (南投市), seat of Nantou County, Taiwan
* Nantou (historical town) (南头), a historic town and former administrative center of Xin' ...
,
forcing the
Bao'an County
Bao'an County, formerly named Xin'an County, was a historical county in South China. It roughly follows the administrative boundaries of modern-day Hong Kong and the city of Shenzhen. For most of its history, the administrative center of the cou ...
government to relocate to the neighboring Dongguan County. In 1941, the
Japanese army
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...
tried to cross into Hong Kong through the
Lo Wu Bridge
The Lo Wu Bridge () is a footbridge and steel railway truss bridge across Sham Chun River linking Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Due to the course of widening the river section at Lo Wu, it is necessary to reconstruct the Lo Wu railway bridge as its s ...
in Shenzhen, though this was detonated by the British, preventing the Japanese from entering Hong Kong. When Japan surrendered in September 1945, the Bao'an County government moved back to Nantou.
1950s to 1975
In 1953, four years after the founding of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, the Bao'an County government decided to move to Shenzhen, since the town was closer to the KCR and had a larger economy than Nantou.
From the 1950s to the end of the 1970s, Shenzhen and the rest of Bao'an County oversaw
a huge influx of refugees trying to escape to Hong Kong from the upheavals that were occurring in
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
, and a range from 100,000
to 560,000
refugees resided in the county.
In January 1978, a Central Inspection Team sent by the
State Council State Council may refer to:
Government
* State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President
* State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
investigated and established the issue of creating a foreign trade port in Bao'an County.
In May, the investigation team wrote the "Hong Kong and Macao Economic Investigation Report" and proposed to turn Bao'an County and
Zhuhai
Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...
into commodity export bases. In August 1978, the
Huiyang District
Huiyang District ( postal: Waiyeung; is a district of Huizhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It was renamed in 2003 amid the restructuring of districts and counties in Huizhou. Formerly named Huiyang city (county level), its si ...
Committee reported to the Provincial Committee on the "Report on the Request for the Change of Bao'an County to Shenzhen". On 18 October, the Standing Committee of the
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
Provincial Party Committee decided to change Bao'an County into Bao'an City and to turn it into a medium-level
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of China' ...
with a foreign trade base. The Huiyang District Committee and the Bao'an County Committee, however, defended the change to rename Bao'an County to Shenzhen, claiming that people in the world know more about Shenzhen and its port than they know about Bao'an County.
On 23 January 1979, the
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
provincial administration and the district of
Huiyang
Huiyang District ( postal: Waiyeung; is a district of Huizhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It was renamed in 2003 amid the restructuring of districts and counties in Huizhou. Formerly named Huiyang city (county level), its si ...
announced their proposal to rename Bao'an County to Shenzhen and was approved and put into effect by the
State Council State Council may refer to:
Government
* State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President
* State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
on March 5 of that year.
Also, the city would establish six districts:
Luohu
Luohu District is a district of Shenzhen, China, located north of the New Territories of Hong Kong, east of Futian District, southeast of Longgang District, southwest of Pingshan District, and west of Yantian District. It is one of the oldest ...
, Nantou, Songgang,
Longhua,
Longgang and Kuiyong. On 31 January 1979, the
Central Committee of the Communist Party
Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...
approved a plan to establish the
Shekou Industrial Zone
Shekou () is an area at the southern tip of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. It faces Yuen Long, Hong Kong across the Shenzhen Bay. It has been designated as a Free Trade Zone by the government, alongside Qianhai, Hengq ...
in Shenzhen with the purpose "to lead domestic, overseas, and diversified operations, industrial and commercial integration, and trading" based on the systems of that of Hong Kong and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
.
The Shekou Industrial Zone project was led by Hong Kong-based
China Merchants Group
China Merchants Group Limited () is an international state-owned corporation (SOE) of the People's Republic of China. The company is operating under the auspices of the Chinese Ministry of Transport.
Founded in 1872 China Merchants Steam Navig ...
under
Yuan Geng
Yuan Geng (; 23 April 1917 – 31 January 2016), born Ouyang Rushan, was a Chinese guerrilla fighter, war hero, spy, policy visionary, and serial entrepreneur on behalf of the Chinese state. He was an early proponent of China's reform and openin ...
's leadership and was to become the first export processing industrial zone in mainland China.
At the beginning of April 1979, the Standing Committee of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
Province discussed and proposed to the
Central Committee
Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
to set up a "trade cooperation zone" in Shenzhen,
Zhuhai
Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...
, and
Shantou
Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative ...
.
In the same month, the Central Working Conference decided on the "Regulations on Vigorously Developing Foreign Trade to Increase Foreign Exchange Income" and agreed to pilot the first
special economic zones
A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
(SEZ) in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and
Xiamen
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
. In November, Shenzhen was elevated to the status of prefecture-level city at the regional level by the Guangdong provincial administration.
Special Economic Zone (1980s–present)
![Shenchen in 1982](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Shenchen_in_1982.jpg)
In May 1980, the Central Committee designated Shenzhen as the first SEZ in China,
which was promoted by then-
paramount leader
Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
as part of China's "
reform and opening-up
The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of Ch ...
" reforms which were set up a year previously. Its objective is to be an experimental ground for the practice of
market capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private pr ...
within a community guided by the ideals of "
socialism with Chinese characteristics
Socialism with Chinese characteristics ( zh, s=中国特色社会主义, hp=Zhōngguó tèsè shèhuìzhǔyì) is a set of political theories and policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that are seen by their proponents as representing M ...
".
On 26 August, the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
(NPC) approved the "Regulations of the Guangdong Special Economic Zone." Under these regulations, Shenzhen formulated a series of preferential policies to attract foreign investment, including business autonomy, taxation, land use, foreign exchange management, product sales, and entry and exit management. Through the processing of incoming materials, compensation trade, joint ventures, cooperative operations, sole proprietorship, and leasing, the city has attracted a large amount of foreign investment and helped popularize and enable rapid development of the SEZ concept.
In March 1981, Shenzhen was promoted to a
sub-provincial city
A sub-provincial division () in China is a prefecture-level city governed by a province promoted by half a level. Thus, it is half a level under the provincial level (hence the name sub-provincial) but half a level above the prefecture-level.
T ...
.
There were plans for Shenzhen to develop its currency, but the plans were shelved due to the risk and the disagreement that a country should not be operating with two currencies. To enforce law and order in the city, the Shenzhen government erected barbed wire and checkpoints between the land borders of the main sections of the SEZ and the SEZ outskirts, as well as the rest of China, in 1983, which was known as the second line border ().
In November 1988, Shenzhen became a (), meaning that the city can implement policies that are different from those in the national plan, and was given the right of provincial-level economic administration.
In December 1990, under the authority of the
China Securities Regulatory Commission
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is a government ministry of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is the main regulator of the securities industry in China.
History
China's first Securities Law was ...
, the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE; ) is a stock exchange based in the city of Shenzhen, in the People's Republic of China. It is one of three stock exchanges operating independently in Mainland China, the others being the Beijing Stock Excha ...
was established to provide a platform for centralized securities trading. In February 1992, the Standing Committee of the NPC granted the government of Shenzhen the power to make local laws and regulations.
In 1996 and early 1997, the
Shenzhen Guesthouse Hotel Shenzhen Guesthouse Hotel is a three star hotel in the Dongmen business district of Shenzhen, China.
Description
The main structure of the hotel is a winged 11 storey tower with 620 rooms and located on 15 Xin Yuan Road in the Lu Hu District of Sh ...
in Shenzhen was home to the
Provisional Legislative Council
The Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) was the interim legislature of Hong Kong that operated from 1997 to 1998. The legislature was founded in Guangzhou and sat in Shenzhen from 1996 (with offices in Hong Kong) until the handover in 1997 an ...
and
Provisional Executive Council of Hong Kong in preparation for the
handover of Hong Kong
Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the British Hong Kong, former colony. Hong Kong was establ ...
in 1997.
By 2001, as a result of Shenzhen's increasing economic prospects, increasing numbers of migrants from mainland China chose to go to Shenzhen and stay there instead of trying to illegally cross into Hong Kong. There were 9,000 captured border-crossers in 2000, while the same figure was 16,000 in 1991. Around the same time, Shenzhen hosted the second Senior Officials' Meeting of
APEC China 2001
APEC China 2001 was a series of economic and political meetings between the 21 member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum held in the People's Republic of China during 2001. Various meetings were held across the country, with le ...
on 26 May 2001 in its southern manufacturing center and port. In May 2008, the State Council approved the Shenzhen SEZ to promote Shenzhen's administrative management system, economic system, social field, independent innovation system and mechanism, system and mechanism for opening up and regional cooperation, and resource conservation and environmental friendliness.
On 1 July 2010, the State Council dissolved the "second line," and expanded the Shenzhen SEZ to include all districts, a five-fold increase over its pre-expansion size.
On 26 August 2010, on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen SEZ, the State Council approved the "Overall Development Plan for
Qianhai
Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone () is a commercial development in Shenzhen, Guangdong that is also known as Qianhai New District. Located in Nanshan District and encircled by the Shuangjie River, Yueliangwan ...
Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone."
In August 2011, the city hosted the
26th Universiade, an international multi-sport event organized for university athletes. In April 2015, the Shekou Industrial Zone and the Qianhai Zone were integrated within the newly established
Guangdong Free-Trade Zone
Guangdong Free-Trade Zone (Guangdong FTZ, colloquially known as 广东自由贸易区/广东自贸区 in Chinese), officially China (Guangdong) Pilot Free-Trade Zone () is a free-trade zone in Guangdong province, China. It is a free-trade zone near ...
.
On 18 August 2019, the
central government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
unveiled reform plans covering economical, social, and political sectors of Shenzhen, intending to have the SEZ be a model city for cities in China and the world to follow.
Geography
![Shenzhen 114](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Shenzhen_114.09549E_22.54895N.jpg)
Shenzhen is located within the
Pearl River Delta
The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, 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-Mac ...
, bordering
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
to the south,
Huizhou
Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in central-east Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Heyua ...
to the north and northeast,
Dongguan
Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...
to the north and northwest.
Lingdingyang
Lingdingyang () or Lingding Channel is the middle channel of the Pearl River estuary which runs from Humen to Jiuzhouyang. Humen separates Lingdingyang and Shiziyang, the upper channel of the Pearl River Estuary, in the north and Jiuzhouyang, the ...
and
Pearl River
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...
to the west and
Mirs Bay
Mirs Bay (also known as Tai Pang Wan, Dapeng Wan, Dapeng Bay, or Mers Bay; ) is a bay in the northeast of Kat O and Sai Kung Peninsula of Hong Kong. The north and east shores are surrounded by Yantian and Dapeng New District of Shenzhen. Ping ...
to the east and roughly southeast of the provincial capital of
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
. As of the end of 2017, the resident population of Shenzhen was 12,528,300, of which the registered population was 4,472,200, the actual administrative population was over 20 million.
It makes up part of the Pearl River Delta built-up area with 44,738,513 inhabitants, spread over 9 municipalities (including
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
). The city is elongated measuring 81.4 kilometers from east to west while the shortest section from north to south is 10.8 kilometers.
Over 160 rivers or channels flow through Shenzhen. There are 24 reservoirs within the city limits with a total capacity of 525 million tonnes. Notable rivers in Shenzhen include the
Shenzhen River
The Sham Chun River, Shum Chum River, or Shenzhen River () serves as the natural border between Hong Kong and Mainland China, together with the Sha Tau Kok River, Mirs Bay and Deep Bay.
It formed part of the limit of the lease of the New ...
, Maozhou River and Longgang River.
Shenzhen is surrounded by many islands. Most of them fall under the territory of neighbouring areas such as
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
Special Administrative Region and
Huiyang District
Huiyang District ( postal: Waiyeung; is a district of Huizhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It was renamed in 2003 amid the restructuring of districts and counties in Huizhou. Formerly named Huiyang city (county level), its si ...
,
Huizhou
Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in central-east Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Heyua ...
. But there are several islands under Shenzhen's jurisdiction, such as
Nei Lingding Island
Nei or Inner Lingding Island, formerly romanized as Lintin or is an island in the Pearl River estuary in the southeastern Chinese province of Guangdong. Although it is located closer to the eastern (Hong Kong and Shenzhen) shore of the estuary, ...
,
Dachan Island
Dachan Island () is an island in Shenzhen, China. Located within Qianhai Bay, it is the second largest island in Shenzhen. Administratively it belongs to Nanshan District.
See also
*Nei Lingding Island
Nei or Inner Lingding Island, formerl ...
(Tai Shan Island), Xiaochan Island, Mazhou, Laishizhou, Zhouzai and Zhouzaitou. (See
List of islands in Shenzhen
The city of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China is surrounded by numerous islands. Nonetheless, a significant portion of them falls under the territory of adjacent areas such as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Huiyang District, Huizhou. Ther ...
)
Climate
Although Shenzhen is situated about a degree south of the
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...
, due to the Siberian
anticyclone
An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined as a large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from abov ...
it has a warm,
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
-influenced,
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Cwa'') though it is fairly close to a
Tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
one. Winters are mild and relatively dry, due in part to the influence of the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
, and frost is very rare; it begins dry but becomes progressively more humid and overcast. However, fog is most frequent in winter and spring, with 106 days per year reporting some fog. Early spring is the cloudiest time of year, and rainfall begins to dramatically increase in April; the rainy season lasts until late September to early October. The monsoon reaches its peak intensity in the summer months, when the city also experiences very humid, and hot, but moderated, conditions; there are only 2.4 days of + temperatures.
The region is prone to torrential rain as well, with 9.7 days that have or more of rain, and 2.2 days of at least .
The latter portion of autumn is dry. The annual precipitation averages at around , some of which is delivered in
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
s that strike from the east during summer and early autumn. Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 11 February 1957 to on 10 July 1980.
Politics
Structure
Like virtually all
governing institutions in mainland China, Shenzhen has a parallel party-government system,
in which the
Party Committee Secretary
A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...
, officially termed the Communist Party of China Shenzhen Municipal Committee Secretary, outranks the Mayor. The party's committee acts as the top policy-formulation body, and is typically composed of 12 members (including the secretary).
Despite being a
sub-provincial city
A sub-provincial division () in China is a prefecture-level city governed by a province promoted by half a level. Thus, it is half a level under the provincial level (hence the name sub-provincial) but half a level above the prefecture-level.
T ...
, Shenzhen as a SEZ still wields a lot of autonomy from the central government.
In addition to being promoted to a sub-provincial city, the
National People's Congress (NPC) in 1981 granted legislative powers to Shenzhen and other Special Economic Zones, giving the city the privilege to make its own laws and regulations. The
Standing Committee of the NPC also granted Shenzhen voted and passed the "Decision on Authorizing the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress and its Standing Committee and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government to respectively formulate laws and regulations for implementation in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone" in order to give fully strengthen Shenzhen's legislative powers without interference from the central government.
Corruption
There were several cases of high-ranking Shenzhen officials that were arrested on charges relating to corruption. In December 2002, the Shenzhen People's Intermediate Court sentenced Zhao Yucun, former Commissioner of Shenzhen Customs, to life imprisonment for taking bribes of 9 million
RMB
The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...
. In November 2003, the Guangzhou People's Intermediate Court charged former Shenzhen Deputy Mayor Wang Ju with bribery and abuse of power and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. In June 2005, the Shenzhen People's Intermediate Court charged sentenced Luohu District Public Security Director An Huijun to 15 years in prison for accepting bribes. In May 2011, the Zhengzhou Intermediate Court sentenced former mayor
Xu Zongheng
Xu Zongheng (; born July 1955) is a Chinese politician who was the mayor of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China from June 2005 to June 2009. During his term of service, an agreement was reached on the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle to develop both ci ...
to the
death penalty with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes up to US$5.4 million.
Administrative divisions
Shenzhen has direct jurisdiction over nine administrative ''
Districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
'' and one ''New District'':
Shenzhen was originally
Bao'an County
Bao'an County, formerly named Xin'an County, was a historical county in South China. It roughly follows the administrative boundaries of modern-day Hong Kong and the city of Shenzhen. For most of its history, the administrative center of the cou ...
. On 5 March 1979, the
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...
dissolved the county and set up the city of Shenzhen in its place initially with six districts: Luohu (), Nantou (), Songgang (), Longhua (), Longgang (), and Kuiyong (), with the seat based in Luohu. In October 1981, Bao'an County was re-established, with its region now based outside Shenzhen. In June 1983, the districts were dissolved and re-established instead as five management areas ():
Shekou
Shekou () is an area at the southern tip of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Guangdong Province, China. It faces Yuen Long, Hong Kong across the Deep Bay, China, Shenzhen Bay. It has been designated as a free-t ...
(; south-west Shenzhen), Nantou (; west Shenzhen), Shangbu (; central Shenzhen), Luohu (; east-central Shenzhen), and Shatoujiao (; far-east Shenzhen).
To enforce law and order in the city, the Shenzhen government erected a border known as the second line (), which consisted of barbed wire and checkpoints between the city and the rest of China.
Initially, the border control was relatively strict, requiring non-Shenzhen citizens to obtain special permissions for entering. Over the years, border controls have gradually weakened, and permission requirement has been abandoned.
In January 1990, the city merged Shekou Management Area and Nantou Management Area to form the
Nanshan District, renamed Shangbu Management Area to the
Futian District
Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as the city's central business district (CBD).
Name
There are two theori ...
, and merged Luohu Management Area and Shatoujiao Management Area to form the
Luohu District
Luohu District is a district of Shenzhen, China, located north of the New Territories of Hong Kong, east of Futian District, southeast of Longgang District, Shenzhen, Longgang District, southwest of Pingshan District, Shenzhen, Pingshan District, ...
. In December 1992, Bao'an County was dissolved again, with its area taken by Shenzhen and split into two new districts:
Bao'an District
Bao'an District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province. It is one of the districts formerly lying outside the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.
History
Bao'an was the historical name of Bao'an County ...
and
Longgang District, though economic privileges within special economics zones did not pertain to them as they were outside the second line border. At this point, Shenzhen has five districts: Luohu, Futian, Nanshan, Bao'an, and Longgang. In March 1998, Shenzhen's government created the
Yantian District
Yantian District () is one of the nine districts of the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It is adjacent to Shenzhen River and Hong Kong to the south, and is surrounded by Luohu, Longgang and Pingshan districts of Shenzhen.
Before 1960s, t ...
from the eastern portions of the Luohu District (the original area of the Shatoujiao Management District), and within the second line border.
Yantian, Luohu, Futian, and Nanshan together as the special economic districts within the second line border are referred to as ''guannei'' () while districts that are outside the second line and do not have special economic privileges such as Bao'an and Longgang are referred to as ''guanwai'' ().
The Shenzhen government later established two new districts as part of the ''guanwai'':
Guangming New District
Guangming District is one of nine districts in the city of Shenzhen. The district, bordering the city of Dongguan in the Northwest of Shenzhen, was created in 2007 as a "functional area" of Bao'an District. In May 2018, it became a formal admin ...
in August 2007 and
Pingshan New District in June 2009.
On 1 July 2010, the second line border was dissolved, and the Shenzhen SEZ was expanded to cover the entire city. Therefore, the four ''guanwai'' districts Bao'an District, Longgang District, Guangming New District, and Pingshan New District, would be given special economic privileges like the ''guannei'' districts.
The area of the Shenzhen SEZ also increased from to . Since June 2015, the existing unused border structures have been demolished and are being transformed into urban greenspaces and parks. On 15 January 2018, the State Council approved the removal of the barbed wire fence set up to mark the boundary of the SEZ.
In early 2011, the provincial government of Guangdong approved the establishment of the Shenzhen-Shantou Special Cooperation Zone in the city and SEZ of
Shantou
Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative ...
,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
that will last until 2040 with the purpose of economic development. The zone would be managed by Shenzhen and another Cantonese city,
Shanwei
Shanwei (), or Swabue is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Jieyang to the east, Meizhou and Heyuan to the north, Huizhou to the west, and looks out to the South China Sea to the south. I ...
. The zone is under the jurisdiction of Shenzhen instead of Shantou, with residents living there considered to be permanent residents of Shenzhen.
The Shenzhen government later established two new districts on 27 October 2011,
Longhua New District
Longhua District is a district in Shenzhen, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. It was created as a new district on 30 December 2011, and became a formal district on 11 October 2016.
History
Longhua was established as a new district on 30 Dec ...
and
Dapeng New District
Dapeng New District () is an administrative area under the jurisdiction of Longgang District in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It has a land area of , a coastline of and a total population of about 180,000. The district was created on 30December 2011 wi ...
. With approval of the State Council, Shenzhen re-organized Longhua New District as Longhua District and Pingshan New District as Pingshan District on 11 October 2016 and Guangming New District as Guangming District on 24 May 2018, therefore becoming their own jurisdictions.
Economy
![Shenzhen_Stock_Exchange_1-2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Shenzhen_Stock_Exchange_1-2014.jpg)
Shenzhen was the first of the
Special Economic Zones
A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
(SEZ) to be established by
general secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
.
Back to Apr 1979, Shenzhen was reformed as a Special Export Zone to create a favorable investment environment and introduce advanced technology and management experience, later renamed to
Special Economic Zone
A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
in May 1980. As of 2018, Shenzhen has a
nominal GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is often ...
of 2.42 trillion
RMB
The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...
(HK$2.87 trillion), which recently had surpassed neighboring
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
's GDP of HK$2.85 trillion and
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
's GDP of 2.29 trillion RMB (HK$2.68 trillion), making the economic output of Shenzhen the
third largest out of Chinese cities,
[The gdp and gdp per capita data for Hong kong and Macau SAR, according to IMF World Economic Outlook (IMF WEO) Database ] trailing behind
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.
[The gdp and gdp per capita data of four direct-administered municipalities, according to ''China NBS national data'' () The average exchange rate is 6.7518 Chinese yuan per US dollar in 2017 ] In addition, Shenzhen's
GDP growth
Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...
between 2016 and 2017 of 8.8% surpassed that of Hong Kong and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, with 3.7% and 2.5% respectively. With a market capitalization of United States dollar, US$2.5 trillion as of 30 November 2018, the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE; ) is a stock exchange based in the city of Shenzhen, in the People's Republic of China. It is one of three stock exchanges operating independently in Mainland China, the others being the Beijing Stock Excha ...
(SZSE) is the List of stock exchanges, 8th largest exchange in the world.
In the 2021 Global Financial Centres Index, Shenzhen was ranked as having the 8th most competitive and largest financial center in the world and 6th in the whole of Asia & Oceania region (after Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, and Tokyo).
As of 2020, Shenzhen is ranked as an Alpha- (
global first-tier) city by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershi ...
and ranked as having the Global Financial Centres Index, 8th most competitive and largest financial center in the world.
According to ''Forbes'', Shenzhen has the fifth-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world. Shenzhen's nominal GDP is projected to be among the world top 10 largest cities in 2035 (together with
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
in China) according to a study by Oxford Economics and its nominal GDP per capita will reach above US$57,000 (ranking first in mainland China) in 2030, which is comparable to Tokyo and Seoul.
Shenzhen is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast south to the tip of India via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.
As of August 2022, Shenzhen has the eighth-most
Fortune Global 500
The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by ''Fortune'' magazine.
Methodology
Until 1989, it listed onl ...
headquarters of any city in the world and the third-most in China after (Beijing and Shanghai) within its city limits.
Industry
![BYD HQ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/BYD_HQ.png)
Shenzhen's industry is described by its Municipal Bureau of Statistics to be upheld by its four-pillar industries: High tech, high-tech, finance, logistics, and Cultural industry, culture.
Shenzhen is also a large hub of the Chinese and global technology industry and home to a large startup ecosystem. As of 2020, the city was ranked as the 4th Fintech powerhouse in the world after (New York City, Shanghai and Beijing). Shenzhen is primarily known for its high-tech industry, which has a value of 585.491 billion RMB (US$82.9 billion) in 2015, a 13% increase compared to last year.
Out of the nominal GDP of 1,750.299 billion RMB in 2015, the high-tech industry comprises 33.4% of this amount. Shenzhen is home to a number of prominent tech firms, such as Telecommunications equipment, telecommunications and Consumer electronics, electronics corporation
Huawei
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
, internet giant and Holding company, holding conglomerate
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
, Unmanned aerial vehicle, drone-maker
DJI
SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. or Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies Ltd. ( zh, c=深圳大疆创新科技有限公司, p=Shēnzhèn Dà Jiāng Chuàngxīn Kējì Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) in full, more popularly known as its trade name DJI, which s ...
, and telecommunications company ZTE. Other tech firms include personal computer manufacturer Hasee,
radio manufacturer Hytera, consumer electronics manufacturer OnePlus, and electronic and automobile manufacturer BYD Company, BYD. Shenzhen annually holds the , which showcases high-tech products and provides for dialogue and investment for high-tech. As a result, Shenzhen is dubbed by media outlets as "China's
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
"
[Compare: ] or the "Silicon Valley of Hardware" for the world. Shenzhen ranks List of cities by scientific output, 28th globally by scientific research outputs as tracked by the Nature Index.
In addition to its numerous high-tech companies, Shenzhen is also home to a number of large financial institutions, such as China Merchants Bank and Ping An Insurance and its subsidiary Ping An Bank. Since the city's establishment as a SEZ, a number of foreign banks had established offices in the city, including Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Bank of East Asia. In total, the financial industry accounts for 14.5% of the city's nominal GDP in 2015 (254.282 billion RMB), which was a 15.9% increase over the previous year.
By the end of 2016, the total assets of the financial industry amounted to 12.7 trillion RMB (banking industry assets were 7.85 trillion RMB, security companies assets were 1.25 trillion RMB, and insurance industry assets were 3.6 trillion RMB), making Shenzhen's financial industry the third largest in China.
In addition, Shenzhen is one of the world's Global Financial Centres Index, top ten financial centers as of 2019, jumping five places to ninth place as determined by "variety of areas of competitiveness, including business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial sector development and reputation."
![Yantian-port from above](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Yantian-port_from_above.jpg)
Addressing the logistics industry, courier SF Express and shipping company China International Marine Containers (CIMC) have their headquarters in Shenzhen. The
Port of Shenzhen
The Port of Shenzhen is a collective name of a number of ports along parts of the coastline of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. These ports as a whole forms one of the busiest and fastest growing container ports in the world.
The port is h ...
, composed of Yantian International Container Terminals,
Chiwan
Chiwan (; Cantonese: Chik Wan) is a bay area surrounded by Chiwan hill at the east, Xiaonanshan hill at the north, and Ying Zui hill at the southeast, in Nanshan district, Shenzhen, China.
Chiwan Port
Chiwan Port () or Chiwan Container Ter ...
Container Terminals, Shekou Industrial Zone, Shekou Container Terminals, China Merchants Port and Shenzhen Haixing (Mawan port), handled a record number of Containerization, containers with rising trade increased cargo shipments in 2005, ranking it as the List of busiest container ports, world's fourth-busiest container port.
Shenzhen's high port traffic levels combined with a high urban population make Shenzhen a large port megacity, the largest type of port-city in the world. Together, the logistics industry accounts for around 10.1% (178.27 billion RMB) of the city's nominal GDP in 2015, which was an increase of 9.4%.
Shenzhen Port’s first foreign trade blockchain cargo release platform was launched recently.
Shenzhen had prioritized the cultural industry in according to the , establishing the Shenzhen Fashion Creative Industry Association (深圳市时尚文化创意协会) and planning the 4.6 square-kilometer Dalang Fashion Valley (大浪时尚创意城).
On 7 December 2008, UNESCO approved Shenzhen's entrance into the Creative Cities Network, and awarded the Shenzhen the title of "United Nations Design Capital."
Altogether, the cultural industry in turn contributes to 5.8% (102.116 billion RMB) of Shenzhen's economy in 2015.
In addition to the four pillar industries that was listed by the municipal government, Shenzhen also has a relatively notable real-estate industry. The real-estate industry altogether contributes to 9.2% (162.777 billion RMB) of Shenzhen's economy in 2015, which was an increase of 16.8% compared to last year.
Real estate developers such as the Evergrande Group, Vanke, and China Resources Land are headquartered within the city.
![Shekou fishing harbor2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Shekou_fishing_harbor2021.jpg)
As a SEZ, Shenzhen has established several industrial zones to encourage economic activities. The
Shekou Industrial Zone
Shekou () is an area at the southern tip of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. It faces Yuen Long, Hong Kong across the Shenzhen Bay. It has been designated as a Free Trade Zone by the government, alongside Qianhai, Hengq ...
was approved and established back on 31 January 1979 by the Central Committee of the CPC to assist in the "Hong Kong-based" economy of Shenzhen.
In 1996, the State Council approved and established the Shenzhen High-tech Industrial Development Zone, helping to develop Shenzhen's high-tech industry in areas such as electronics and information technology. In accordance to the National Plan in 2001, the Shenzhen Software Park, integrated within the High-tech Industrial Development Zone, was established for software production and assist in the development of the city's software industry. On 26 August 2010, the State Council approved the "Qianhai, Overall Development Plan for Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone" to solidify ties between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Tourism
![Shenzhen ocean](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Shenzhen_ocean.jpg)
Tourism is gradually growing as an important industry for Shenzhen. Shenzhen has been ranked second on the list of 'top 10 cities to visit in 2019' by Lonely Planet.
The Shenzhen administration in its "12th Five-Year Plan for Tourism Development of Shenzhen" had focused on turning the city into an international tourist hub, with emphasis on the city's scientific, fashion, and industrial elements.
The Shenzhen tourist industry is claimed by the local administration in having a strong development advantage, due to the city being one of the Chinese city tier system, tier-one cities in China, as well as being known for its coastal resources, climate environment, capitalist economy, and technological innovation.
In 2015, the tourism industry's total revenue was 124.48 billion RMB (US$17.6 billion), a 98.1% increase from 2010.Out of the total revenue, 28% (35 billion RMB ''or'' US$4.968 billion) came from international tourists, an increase of 56.2% from 2010. In addition, in that year, Shenzhen received 11.63 million tourists, a 51% increase from 2010.
![1_splendid_china_shenzhen_2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/1_splendid_china_shenzhen_2011.JPG)
Shenzhen has numerous tourist destinations, ranging from recreational areas such as theme parks and public parks to tall buildings. Most of the tourist attractions are part of Overseas Chinese Town, Overseas Chinese Town (OCT), a colloquial name for parks owned by Overseas Chinese Town Enterprises, OCT Enterprises and is classified as an AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration. These include the Window of the World, the Splendid China Folk Village, Happy Valley Shenzhen, Happy Valley (), OCT East, and OCT Harbour. Other theme parks include
Shekou
Shekou () is an area at the southern tip of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Guangdong Province, China. It faces Yuen Long, Hong Kong across the Deep Bay, China, Shenzhen Bay. It has been designated as a free-t ...
Sea World (), Xiaomeisha Sea World, and the now-closed Minsk World. Shenzhen also has a number of popular public parks and beaches, such as People's Park (Shenzhen), People's Park, Lianhuashan Park, Lizhi Park, Zhongshan Park, Wutong Mountain, Wutongshan Park, Dameisha Beach, Dameisha () and ().
[The City Parks of Shenzhen](_blank)
The City Parks of Shenzhen ~ Retrieved 2 February 2010 The city is also home to tall buildings such as the Ping An Finance Centre,
KK100, and the Shun Hing Square (also known as Di Wang Tower).
![Sea World in Shekou Shenzhen2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Sea_World_in_Shekou_Shenzhen2021.jpg)
Shenzhen's tourism industry is recently expanding under the "13th Five-Year Plan for Tourism Development of Shenzhen" as promoted under the Shenzhen local government.
In this plan, the tourist industry plans to exceed 200 billion RMB and receive 150 million domestic and foreign tourists by 2020.
Part of the plan includes organizing the tourist industry within five brands: theme parks, retail, natural recreational areas, sports, and international gatherings, as well as speeding up construction of future tourist attractions and turning Shenzhen into a Chinese hub for sports.
Retail
Retail is an important pillar of Shenzhen's Tertiary sector of the economy, tertiary sector. Out of the added value of Shenzhen's tertiary sector of 1.42 trillion RMB (US$201 billion) in 2018, retail contributed 43% (616.89 billion RMB) of this amount, a 7.6 percent increase compared to last year (601.62 billion RMB). In addition, 10.9% of Shenzhen's Foreign direct investment, FDI is directed towards the wholesale and retail sector.
![Coco_park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Coco_park.jpg)
Huaqiangbei, Huaqiang North () is one of Shenzhen's notable retail areas, being known for having one of the largest electronics markets in the world. Luohu Commercial City, a commercial complex located adjacent to
Shenzhen Railway Station
Shenzhen railway station (, formerly Shum Chun station), also unofficially known as Luohu railway station (), is located across from Luohu Commercial City in Nanhu Subdistrict, Shenzhen, Nanhu Subdistrict, Luohu District of Shenzhen, Guangdong an ...
, is noted for having a variety of products that ranges from electronics and Counterfeit consumer goods, counterfeit goods to tailored suits and curtains.
In addition to Huaqiang North and Luohu Commercial City, Shenzhen has numerous shopping malls and commercial areas, including COCO Park and its branches COCO City and
Longgang COCO Park, Uniworld (), Uniwalk (), and Coastal City(海岸城). Shenzhen is also home to drugstore chain China Nepstar.
"Smart retail", which uses technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data in production, circulation, and sales of consumer goods, has been growing popular within enterprises in Shenzhen. Businesses in Shenzhen are encouraged to use the Internet to develop the consumer market and new retail projects would be assisted with the use of technology. In addition, the Shenzhen administration is setting up a new retail industry development fund to promote the use of "smart retail", with the intention of stimulating the economy of Shenzhen and to turn the city into a "new retail" hub.
Demographics
As of 2020, Shenzhen had a total permanent population of 17,560,000, with 5,874,000 (33.4%) of them hukou holders (registered locally).
As Shenzhen is a young city, senior citizens above 60 years old took up only 5.36 percent of the city's total population.
Despite this, the life expectancy in Shenzhen is 81.25 in 2018, ranking among the List of cities in China by life expectancy, top twenty cities in China. The male to female ratio in Shenzhen is 130 to 100, making the city having the highest sex disparity in comparison to other cities in
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
.
Shenzhen also has a high birth rate compared to other Chinese cities with 21.7 babies for every 10,000 of its 13.44 million population in 2019. Based on the population of its total administrative area, Shenzhen is the List of cities proper by population, fifth most populous city proper in China. Shenzhen is part of the Pearl Delta, Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (covering cities such as
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
,
Dongguan
Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...
, Foshan, Zhongshan,
Zhuhai
Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...
,
Huizhou
Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in central-east Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Heyua ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
), the world's largest urban area according to the World Bank, and has a population of 78 million according to the Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China, 2020 Census.
Before Shenzhen's establishment as a SEZ in 1980, the area was composed mainly of Hakka people, Hakka and Cantonese people, Cantonese people. When the SEZ was established, the city attracted migrants from all around Guangdong, including Hakka, Cantonese, and Teochew people, Teochew, as well as migrants from Southern China, Southern and Central China, Central Chinese provinces such as Hunan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
.
Most of these migrants live in urban villages called ''Urban village (China), chengzhongcun'' () such as Baishizhou in the
Nanshan District. Shenzhen also has a notable Koreans in China, Korean minority based in the Nanshan District and the
Futian District
Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as the city's central business district (CBD).
Name
There are two theori ...
originating from migrants moving to Shenzhen to work for South Korean companies that had branched out into the city when China had Chinese economic reform, opened up.
Due to Shenzhen's population overshooting the 14.8 million population target for 2016 to 2020, the Shenzhen justice bureau on 25 May 2021 had announced it would make it harder to earn a hukou to live in the city.
In regards to the registered population (hukou), Shenzhen has seen an increase of 2.178 million or 58.9% of registered residents in the city from 2015 to 2020.
In regards to permanent population, the city has seen an increase of 7,136,088 or 68.46% of permanent residents in the city from 2010 to 2020, creating an average annual growth rate of 5.35%.
Religion
![Shenzhen religion montage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Shenzhen_religion_montage.png)
According to the Department of Religious Affairs of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, the two main religions present in Shenzhen are Buddhism and Taoism. Every district also has Protestant churches, Catholic churches, and mosques. According to a 2010 survey held by the University of Southern California, approximately 37% of Shenzhen's residents were practitioners of Chinese folk religions, 26% were Buddhists, 18% Taoists, 2% Christians and 2% Muslims; 15% were unaffiliated to any religion. Most new migrants to Shenzhen rely upon the common spiritual heritage drawn from Chinese folk religion. Shenzhen also hosts the headquarters of the Holy Confucian Church, established in 2009.
Languages
Prior to the establishment of Special Economic Zone, the indigenous local communities could be divided into Yue Chinese, Cantonese and Hakka Chinese, Hakka speakers, which were two cultural and linguistic sub-ethnic groups vernacular to Guangdong province. Two Cantonese varieties were spoken locally. One was a fairly standard version, known as standard Cantonese. The other, spoken by several villages south of Fuhua Road was called Weitou dialect. Two or three Hong Kong villages south of the Shenzhen River also speak this dialect. This is consistent with the area settled by people who accompanied the Southern Song court to the south in the late 13th century. Younger generations of the Cantonese communities now speak the more standard version. Today, some aboriginals of the Cantonese and Hakka speaking communities have dispersed into urban settlements (e.g. apartments and villas), but most of them are still clustering in their Urban village (China), traditional urban and suburban villages.
The influx of migrants from other parts of the country has drastically altered the city's linguistic landscape, as Shenzhen has undergone a language shift towards Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin, which was both promoted by the Chinese Central Government as a national lingua franca and natively spoken by most of the out-of-province immigrants and their descendants. However, in recent years multilingualism has been on the rise as descendants of immigrants of out-of-province Mandarin native speakers have begun to assimilate into the local culture through friends, television and other media.
Despite the ubiquity of Mandarin Chinese, according to the South China Morning Post, ''SCMP'', some Shenzhen residents, Cantonese and non-Cantonese alike, have attempted to revive the Cantonese language as part of Shenzhen's culture.
Cityscape
![Pingan International Finance Center2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Pingan_International_Finance_Center2020.jpg)
In 2019, Shenzhen has been dubbed by ''The Guardian'' as "the world leader completing new skyscrapers." The city is ranked the second in the world in terms of the number of buildings above 150 meters, with 297 of them completed as of July 2021, after neighboring Hong Kong. There were more skyscrapers completed in Shenzhen in the year 2016 than in the whole of the US and Australia combined. The construction boom continues today with over 85 skyscrapers under construction across the city as of 2021, the most in the world. Most of the skyscrapers in Shenzhen were built by either
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
or foreign-based architects, utilizing a Modern architecture, modern style, though Functionalism (architecture), functionalism was a dominant form of architecture in the city's skyscrapers in the late 20th century. Among the most prominent examples are the high Guomao Building, the high Shun Hing Square, the high KK100,
the high China Resources Headquarters, and the high Ping An Finance Centre, which is also the List of tallest buildings in China, second tallest in China and the List of tallest buildings in the world, fourth tallest building in the world. Built in 2015, the skyscraper is to be unique and elegant among its surroundings to represent the history and achievements of the main tenant: Ping An Insurance.
![南头古城南门2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/%E5%8D%97%E5%A4%B4%E5%8F%A4%E5%9F%8E%E5%8D%97%E9%97%A82022.jpg)
Shenzhen also has several historical buildings based in Chinese architecture, traditional Chinese architecture. There are Hakka walled villages located in the city such as Crane Lake and Gangeng in the
Longgang District.
Like typical Hakka walled villages, the architecture of Crane Lake and Gangeng are based around large thick grey walls, narrow alleyways, and courtyards.
Nantou Nantou may refer to:
* Nantou County (南投縣), a county in central Taiwan (Republic of China)
* Nantou City (南投市), seat of Nantou County, Taiwan
* Nantou (historical town) (南头), a historic town and former administrative center of Xin' ...
(or Xin'an) is a historic town located in the present-day
Nanshan District and has some buildings that date back to the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
such as the Guandi Temple, though most of these traditional buildings have been replaced by modern ones.
Chiwan
Chiwan (; Cantonese: Chik Wan) is a bay area surrounded by Chiwan hill at the east, Xiaonanshan hill at the north, and Ying Zui hill at the southeast, in Nanshan district, Shenzhen, China.
Chiwan Port
Chiwan Port () or Chiwan Container Ter ...
, located in the Nanshan District, also has several historical buildings, such as the tomb to the last emperor of the Southern Song, Zhao Bing and Tianhou Temple which was built by Zheng He as an offering to
Mazu
Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. Re ...
to protect the Ming treasure fleet. There are also several historical forts that had defended the coastline located within the city, such as Dapeng Fortress and Chiwan Left Fort.
Education
![文科樓](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/%E6%96%87%E7%A7%91%E6%A8%93.jpg)
Before the 1980s, Shenzhen's education system was primarily based on Primary school, primary and limited Secondary education, secondary schooling, with no residents admitted to a university.
Since Shenzhen's establishment as a SEZ in the 1980s, migrants poured into the city, and jobs requiring a university education grew. Shenzhen started implementing policies that will help develop a more high-quality education system, borrowing teachers from the best schools in the country with promises of higher pay and benefits. In addition, the city started building new schools and renovating the infrastructure of its existing schools to give teachers a more comfortable environment to teach.
![Night of SUSTech](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Night_of_SUSTech.jpg)
In the mid-1980s, as upper secondary education became popular, there was a need for higher education institutions in the city.
Opened in 1983, Shenzhen Normal School, later upgraded to Shenzhen Normal College, trained students to become primary school teachers. Approved by the
State Council State Council may refer to:
Government
* State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President
* State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
in the same year,
Shenzhen University
Shenzhen University (SZU, Chinese: 深圳大学) is a municipal public research university in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. The university is funded by the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government.
Location
SZU comprises two campuses, Houhai cam ...
became Shenzhen's first comprehensive full-time higher educational institution. In 1999, the Shenzhen Municipal Government set up the Shenzhen Virtual University Park in the Science and Technology Park, where teachers from China's top universities taught graduate students. In 2011, the innovative
Southern University of Science and Technology
Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) ) is a public research university in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It changed its English name from South University of Science and Technology of China (SUSTC) to Sout ...
was established
followed in 2018 by the Shenzhen Institute of Technology. Other universities have established campuses in the city, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Harbin Institute of Technology, and Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Moscow State University.
![Shenzhen Middle School 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Shenzhen_Middle_School_1.jpg)
The 9-year compulsory education in Shenzhen is free. Secondary schools such as Shenzhen Middle School, Shenzhen Experimental School, Shenzhen Foreign Languages School, and Shenzhen High School, all of which have an on-line rate of over 90%, are dubbed as "Shenzhen's four famous schools." As of 2015, Shenzhen has 12 higher educational institutions, 335 general secondary schools, 334 primary schools, and 1,489 preschools.
According to Laurie Chen of the ''South China Morning Post'', Shenzhen, which had 15 million people as of 2019, had not built as many primary and secondary schools for its populace as it should have, compared to similarly developed cities in China.
Laurie Chen cited the acceptance rate of Shenzhen secondary schools in 2018: 35,000 slots were available for almost 80,000 applicants. She also cited how
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
had 961 primary schools while Shenzhen had only 344 primary schools, as well as how Guangzhou's count of primary school teachers exceeded that of Shenzhen's by 17,000; Chen argued that Guangzhou and Shenzhen have similar populations. In response Shenzhen schools began increasing salaries for prospective teachers.
Transport
Shenzhen is the second largest transportation hub in
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
and South China, trailing behind the provincial capital of
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
. Shenzhen has a developed extensive public transportation system, covering rapid transit, buses and Taxicab, taxis,
most of which can be accessed by either using a Shenzhen Tong card or using QR codes generated by WeChat mini programs. Shenzhen is noted for being the first major city worldwide to only use electric buses and taxis.
![Shenzhen_Bao'an_Airport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Shenzhen_Bao%27an_Airport.jpg)
Regarding air transport, Shenzhen is served by its own Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport and the neighboring Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). Located from the center of the city, Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport serves as the main hub for passenger airlines Shenzhen Airlines and Donghai Airlines and a main hub for cargo airlines Jade Cargo International, SF Airlines, and UPS Airlines.
Together, Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport handled 49,348,950 passengers, 355,907 aircraft, and 1,218,502.2 cargo in 2018, making it the List of the busiest airports in China, 5th busiest airport in China in terms of passenger traffic and the 4th busiest airport in the country in terms of aircraft and cargo traffic. In addition to flying through Bao'an International Airport, ticketed passengers can also take ferries from the Shekou Cruise Centre and the Fuyong Ferry Terminal to the Skypier at Hong Kong International Airport. There are also coach bus services connecting Shenzhen with HKIA.
![Shenzhen_Metro_Line_3_2015_B_Stock_Exterior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Shenzhen_Metro_Line_3_2015_B_Stock_Exterior.jpg)
The Shenzhen Metro serves as the city's rapid transit system. The system in 2022 reaches of route operating on 12 lines with 290 stations. By 2030 the network is planned to be 8 express and 24 non-express lines totalling 1142 kilometres of trackage. The average daily metro ridership in 2021 is 5.99 million passengers. The metro also operates a Shenzhen Tram, tram system in the Longhua District, Shenzhen, Longhua District.
![Shenzhen North Railway Station 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Shenzhen_North_Railway_Station_2014.01.19_22-46-55.jpg)
Shenzhen is served by seven inter-city railway stations: Futian railway station (Guangdong), Futian, Guangmingcheng railway station, Guangmingcheng, Shenzhen Pingshan railway station, Pingshan, Shenzhen railway station, Shenzhen (also known as Luohu Railway Station) Shenzhen East railway station, Shenzhen East, Shenzhen North station, Shenzhen North, and Shenzhen West railway station, Shenzhen West. High-speed rail in China, High-speed rail (HSR) lines that go through the city are the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway, and the Xiamen–Shenzhen railway (forms part of the Hangzhou–Fuzhou–Shenzhen passenger railway). Non-HSR lines that go through Shenzhen are the Guangzhou–Shenzhen railway, Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway (forms part of the Kowloon–Canton Railway, Kowloon–Canton railway) and the Beijing–Kowloon railway, Beijing-Kowloon Railway.
![Shenzhen BYD e-taxi new look 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Shenzhen_BYD_e-taxi_new_look_1.jpg)
As of August 2019, the city's bus system encompasses over 900 lines, with a total of over 16,000 Electric bus, electric vehicles, the largest of its kind in the world. The system is operated by multiple companies. As at January 2019 conversion of Shenzhen's taxi fleet to electric vehicles reached 99%. Electric vehicle, Electric taxis have a blue and white colour scheme. Petroleum fuelled taxis are coloured either green or red.
![Futian Bus Station, G4&Shennan Road](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Futian_Bus_Station%2C_G4%26Shennan_Road.jpg)
Shenzhen serves as a fabric to Expressways of China, China's expressway system. Expressways within the city include the Meiguan Expressway (part of the G94 Pearl River Delta Ring Expressway), the Jihe Expressway (part of the G15 Shenyang–Haikou Expressway, G15 Shenhai Expressway), the Yanba Expressway (part of the S30 Huishen Coastal Expressway), the S28 Shuiguan Expressway, the Yanpai Expressway (part of the G25 Changchun–Shenzhen Expressway, G25 Changshen Expressway and the S27 Renshen Expressway), and the S33 Nanguang Expressway. In response to being rejected from being a part of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, Shenzhen is constructing a Shenzhen–Zhongshan Bridge, bridge across the Pearl River Delta to connect the city of Zhongshan.
![Shekoucruisecenterview](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Shekoucruisecenterview.jpg)
Shenzhen is connected with
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
(city and Hong Kong International Airport, airport),
Zhuhai
Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...
and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
through ferries that leave from and arrive at the Shekou Cruise Center. The Fuyong Passenger Terminal in the
Bao'an District
Bao'an District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province. It is one of the districts formerly lying outside the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.
History
Bao'an was the historical name of Bao'an County ...
provide services to and from
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
(Hong Kong International Airport) and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
(Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal and Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal). The
Port of Shenzhen
The Port of Shenzhen is a collective name of a number of ports along parts of the coastline of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. These ports as a whole forms one of the busiest and fastest growing container ports in the world.
The port is h ...
is the List of busiest container ports, third busiest container port in the world, handling 27.7 million Twenty-foot equivalent unit, TEUs in 2018.
![Shenzhen Bay Port2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Shenzhen_Bay_Port2021.jpg)
Due to its proximity to Hong Kong, Shenzhen has the largest number of entry and exit ports, the largest number of entry and exit personnel, and the largest traffic volume in China.
Shenzhen is busiest in China when it comes to border crossings, with people entering and exiting the country through the city and Hong Kong reaching 239 million in 2015. In the same year, a total of 15.5 million vehicles crossed the border in Shenzhen, a 0.4% increase of last year. Border crossing ports include the Shenzhen Bay Port, Futian Port, Huanggang Port, Man Kam To Control Point, Man Kam To Port, and Luohu Port.
Multiple ports on the part of the coastline of Shenzhen constitute the Shenzhen Port. In 2019, Shenzhen had 211 international container routes, and the container throughput of the entire Shenzhen port reached nearly 25.77 million boxes in 2019, ranking fourth in the world. Yantian Port is the busiest port among Shenzhen ports and the main foreign trade channel in South China in the mid-term.
Culture
![Light_Show_of_Shenzhen_in_May_2019_(2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Light_Show_of_Shenzhen_in_May_2019_%282%29.jpg)
As Shenzhen is located in
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
, the city historically has a Cantonese culture before its transition to a SEZ. Migrants coming to the city to find work and opportunities have turned Shenzhen into a cultural melting pot. Despite this, the municipal government and some of the residents living in Shenzhen, including those who are not from Guangdong, have invested in keeping and reflecting off the city's Cantonese heritage. Shenzhen has presented itself as a city of opportunity for young people in China. The competitive culture that the city promotes among the youth have also used the term "Shenzhen speed," which resulted from the fast construction of the tallest building in Shenzhen. The term also describes a period of constant competition, quick changes, and high-efficiency.
In 2003, the municipal government announced plans to turned Shenzhen into a cultural city by promoting design, animation, and library construction. The municipal government also intends to develop the city's cultural industry in accordance to the , establishing the and the .
Shenzhen's cultural industry specializes in being one of the largest handicraft manufacturers in China, and is also an industry center for oil painting in bases such as Dafen Village. Shenzhen also hosts the Shenzhen International Cultural Fair which specializes as an expo for the world's cultural industries, with the first expo being in November 2004. As a result of these developments, Shenzhen was awarded by UNESCO the title of "United Nations Design Capital" and was accepted entry into the Creative Cities Network on 7 December 2008.
![He_Xiangning_Art_Museum1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/He_Xiangning_Art_Museum1.jpg)
As part of turning Shenzhen into a cultural city, the municipal government established the "Library City" () concept in 2003. The plan would create a library network within the city through library construction, service improvement, and create a comfortable reading environment. By the end of 2015, Shenzhen has 620 Public library, public libraries, including 3 city-level public libraries, 8 district-level public libraries, and 609 grassroots libraries. Notable libraries include the Shenzhen Library and the Shenzhen Children's Library. Shenzhen also has bookstores, with the most notable being Shenzhen Book City in the
Futian District
Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as the city's central business district (CBD).
Name
There are two theori ...
. With an operating area of , it claimed to be the largest bookstore of Asia at the time of its opening. Shenzhen has a number of museums and art galleries, such as the Shenzhen Museum, the Shenzhen Art Museum, the Shekou Maritime Museum, the Longgang Museum of Hakka Culture, the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art, and the He Xiangning Art Museum. Shenzhen also has a few theaters, notably the Shenzhen Concert Hall, the Shenzhen Grand Theater, and the Shenzhen Poly Theater.
![SZ_Luohu_food_n_rest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/SZ_Luohu_food_n_rest.JPG)
As with
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and the surrounding
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
province, the main cuisine of Shenzhen is Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese. However, due to the recent growth of migrants to the city, Shenzhen also hosts a diverse array of cuisines, from Chinese cuisines such as Teochew cuisine, Chaozhou cuisine, Hakka cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Sichuan Cuisine, Shanghai cuisine, and Hunan cuisine, Xiang cuisine, as well as foreign cuisines such as Korean cuisine, Korean, Japanese cuisine, Japanese, French cuisine, French, and American cuisine, American.
The
Yantian District
Yantian District () is one of the nine districts of the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It is adjacent to Shenzhen River and Hong Kong to the south, and is surrounded by Luohu, Longgang and Pingshan districts of Shenzhen.
Before 1960s, t ...
is known for its Teochew-based and Hakka-based seafood, with restaurants lined up along the coastline. Some recreational areas in Shenzhen such as Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Xianhu Botanical Garden, Donghu Park, and Xiaomeisha, host barbecues where visitors bring their own food. Street food such as Xinjiang cuisine, Xinjiang lamb skewers, Northern Chinese pancakes, and black sesame soups, can be found in Xijie Street and the Urban village (China), urban village of Baishizhou.
Shenzhen also has its own Chinese tea culture, tea culture. In regards to food chains, first McDonald's restaurant in mainland China opened for business in Shenzhen on 8 October 1990, providing the city American fast food. Shenzhen is home to the Hey Tea, HeyTea chain of tea shops, which provides a variety of cheese and fruit teas and is popular among social media.
![Coco Park at Night, Shenzhen, China](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Coco_Park_at_Night%2C_Shenzhen%2C_China.jpg)
Shenzhen has a prominent nightlife culture, with most of the activity centered in the entertainment complexes of COCO Park and
Shekou
Shekou () is an area at the southern tip of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Guangdong Province, China. It faces Yuen Long, Hong Kong across the Deep Bay, China, Shenzhen Bay. It has been designated as a free-t ...
,
with the former being referred by the ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP'') as "Shenzhen's answer to Lan Kwai Fong."
There are many bars and clubs in the city, mostly unregulated, that stay open till the morning. Rave, Tunnel raves, referred by the ''SCMP'' as "a Shenzhen nightlife staple", have earned a reputation in the world, though they are often cracked down by police. Police has also cracked down on prostitution and pornography, which were elements of nightlife entertainment in Shenzhen, with one of the most prominent operations being centered in Shazui () in the
Futian District
Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as the city's central business district (CBD).
Name
There are two theori ...
in the mid-2000s, resulting in closures of entertainment businesses and a decrease of foreign tourists in that area of the city.
Sports
![Shenzhen Stadium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Shenzhen_Stadium.jpg)
Shenzhen is home to several professional sports teams, including the Shenzhen Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association and Shenzhen F.C. of the China League One and the Chinese Super League. Other professional sports teams include Shenzhen Ledman F.C. of China League Two until the club was disbanded in 2018 and the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays of the Zhenskaya Hockey League.
![Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre 20170730](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Shenzhen_Universiade_Sports_Centre_20170730.jpg)
Shenzhen is the host of several international sports events. In August 2011, the city has hosted the 2011 Summer Universiade, 26th Summer Universiade, a multi-sporting event for university students.
In 2018, Shenzhen hosted a pre-season National Hockey League game between the Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins. From 2019 to 2028, Shenzhen is hosting the WTA Finals tennis tournament, which is the season-ending championship for women's tennis. Shenzhen is also one of the host cities of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
[The Official website of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup](_blank)
, FIBA.com, Retrieved 9 March 2016. Shenzhen is also a popular destination for skateboarders from all over the world, due to the architecture of the city and its lax skate laws.
Shenzhen has several multi-purpose sports venues. Shenzhen Stadium, located in the
Futian District
Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as the city's central business district (CBD).
Name
There are two theori ...
, is home to the Shenzhen F.C. For the 2011 Summer Universiade, Shenzhen has constructed several sports venues, such as the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center in the
Nanshan District and the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre in the
Longgang District.
One of the most significant sporting events unique to Shenzhen is RoboMaster, an annual intercollegiate robot competition founded and hosted by
DJI
SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. or Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies Ltd. ( zh, c=深圳大疆创新科技有限公司, p=Shēnzhèn Dà Jiāng Chuàngxīn Kējì Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) in full, more popularly known as its trade name DJI, which s ...
based on autonomous moving Shooting sports, target shooting. Started in 2015, the competition introduced a 5-on-5 Multiplayer online battle arena, MOBA-style robot combat between university students around China and later the world. Rewards to the competition include a prize pool of 3,750,000
RMB
The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...
and a job landing at DJI.
Environment
Parks and beaches
Shenzhen has an extensive three-level public park system that was established in 2006, which categorizes parks as natural parks, urban parks, and community parks. By 2019, the city had 1,090 parks covering about 39,320 hectares, including 33 natural parks, 152 urban parks and 905 community parks. According to state-owned news outlet Xinhua News Agency, Xinhua, Shenzhen plans to build and renovate over 40 parks per year, bringing the number of parks in the city to 1,500 by 2035.
![Statue of Deng Xiaoping in Lianhuashan Park, Shenzhen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Statue_of_Deng_Xiaoping_in_Lianhuashan_Park%2C_Shenzhen.jpg)
Lianhuashan Park is located on the territory of 150 hectares in the
Futian District
Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as the city's central business district (CBD).
Name
There are two theori ...
. At the top of the mountain is a large bronze statue of
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
.
Wutongshan National Park is spread around the Wutong Mountain, mountain of the same name in the Luohu District. From the observation deck, there is a view of the Shenzhen skyline as well as Hong Kong and the surrounding bay, and on the next peak there is a transmission tower of a local television station.
Shenzhen Bay Park, located along the city's coastline along Deep Bay, China, Shenzhen Bay, opened in 2011, which included the nearby Mangrove Park. There are several thematic recreation areas and attractions, and along the 9-kilometer-long coastal strip there is an embankment. The Mangrove Ecopark was established in 2000 in the Futian District and at that time was the smallest national park in China. A large group of birds migrate to the ecopark in the mangroves on an area of 20.6 hectares in a 9-kilometer coastal zone of the Shenzhen Bay.
Shenzhen Bay Park is connected to the Dashahe Park (大沙河公园, 'big sand river'), located in Nanshan District, it follows the Dashahe River.
Other notable parks in Shenzhen include the Shenzhen Garden Flower Exposition Center, Shenzhen Safari Park, Xili Lake Resort, and Yangtai Mountain Fountain Park.
![金沙湾2007 - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/%E9%87%91%E6%B2%99%E6%B9%BE2007_-_panoramio.jpg)
Shenzhen also has several beaches: Dameisha Beach, Dameisha () and () in the
Yantian District
Yantian District () is one of the nine districts of the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It is adjacent to Shenzhen River and Hong Kong to the south, and is surrounded by Luohu, Longgang and Pingshan districts of Shenzhen.
Before 1960s, t ...
, and Jinshawan (), Nan'ao (), and Xichong, Shenzhen, Xichong () in Dapeng Peninsula (in the vicinity of
Dapeng New District
Dapeng New District () is an administrative area under the jurisdiction of Longgang District in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It has a land area of , a coastline of and a total population of about 180,000. The district was created on 30December 2011 wi ...
, which is administered by the
Longgang District).
Pollution
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shenzhen achieved an average air quality index (AQI) score of 44.8 µg/m³ and daily AQI score of 19 µg/m³. Out of ten Chinese mega-cities, Shenzhen recorded the lowest in average PM
2.5 concentration (22.5 µg/m³), average PM
10 concentration (37.7 µg/m³), average carbon monoxide concentration (0.6 µg/m³), and average nitrogen dioxide concentration (21.9 µg/m³). Swiss environmental technology company IQAir attributed most of the pollution in Shenzhen to stem from the engineering industry, continued use of coal, and traffic.
In 2014, Shenzhen experienced severe water pollution in the city's rivers and waterways, with 173 of the 310 rivers considered to be in "critical" condition and four rivers: the Maozhou, Guanlan, Longgang and Pingshan Rivers, to be the most polluted out of all rivers in the Pearl River Delta. The pollutants in the river consisted mainly of ammonia, phosphorus, and nitrogen. As a result, the city had conducted a campaign to restore the city's rivers by building more water pipes and sewage treatment plants.
Environmental protection
![BYD Electric Taxi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/BYD_Electric_Taxi.jpg)
From 2000 to 2014, Shenzhen spent 30 billion RMB to restore the city's rivers from water pollution, which some were considered at the time to be the most polluted in the Pearl River Delta. The city had constructed 33 sewage treatment plants and laid almost of sewage pipes.
By 2020, the city laid an additional of water pipelines and completed 13,793 pipeline renovation projects in urban villages and housing estates.
In 2009, Shenzhen was chosen as one of thirteen cities to pilot a national new-energy vehicle program. In 2017, Shenzhen offered 3.3 billion RMB in subsidies in electric buses and the construction of charging facilities. In mid-2018, the city made major headlines for being the first city to roll an all-electric public bus fleet. In the same year, more than half of the city's taxi fleet are electric, with the goal to turn the fleet all-electric. By early 2019, Shenzhen rolled out an all-electric taxi fleet, with 99% of taxis now electric-powered.
In late 2019, Shenzhen launched a garbage classification program in which waste is to be sorted in four categories: recyclables, kitchen waste, hazardous waste, and other waste. Residents who follow the guidelines will be given cash while those who don't would be fined by the government.
Media
![SZ Gou Wu Gong Yuan Station 訊息樞紐大廈](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/SZ_Gou_Wu_Gong_Yuan_Station_%E8%A8%8A%E6%81%AF%E6%A8%9E%E7%B4%90%E5%A4%A7%E5%BB%88.JPG)
In Shenzhen there are 14 newspapers, one comprehensive publishing house, three video-audio products publishing houses, 88 bureaus of inland and Hong Kong media organizations, 40 periodicals, and about 200 kinds of in-house publications of which the majority belong to enterprises. The most prominent media companies in Shenzhen are the Shenzhen Media Group, the Shenzhen Press Group,
China Entertainment Television (CETV), and Phoenix Television branch iFeng.
' (, sznews.com) is a Chinese-language newspaper owned by the Shenzhen Press Group that serves as Shenzhen's main online news source. ''Shenzhen Daily'' is an English-language news outlet for Shenzhen covering local, national and international news
That's Shenzhenis the Shenzhen edition of That's PRD, an English-language media company with an online, print and social footprint. ShekouDaily.com is an online media outlet providing news and resources focusing on the ''
Shekou
Shekou () is an area at the southern tip of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Guangdong Province, China. It faces Yuen Long, Hong Kong across the Deep Bay, China, Shenzhen Bay. It has been designated as a free-t ...
'' sub-district in Nanshan District of Shenzhen.
Relations with Hong Kong
![Shenzhen Bay Bridge 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Shenzhen_Bay_Bridge_2.jpg)
The area encompassed by Shenzhen and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
was formerly belonged to
Bao'an County
Bao'an County, formerly named Xin'an County, was a historical county in South China. It roughly follows the administrative boundaries of modern-day Hong Kong and the city of Shenzhen. For most of its history, the administrative center of the cou ...
in imperial times. After the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
defeat in the
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
seized
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
and was leased the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
, forming the modern-day boundaries between Hong Kong and Shenzhen (the successor to Bao'an).
The two cities are separated by two bays: Deep Bay, China, Shenzhen Bay and
Mirs Bay
Mirs Bay (also known as Tai Pang Wan, Dapeng Wan, Dapeng Bay, or Mers Bay; ) is a bay in the northeast of Kat O and Sai Kung Peninsula of Hong Kong. The north and east shores are surrounded by Yantian and Dapeng New District of Shenzhen. Ping ...
, and a river: Sham Chun River. According to then-Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executive Council member Leung Chun-ying, the two cities' close relationship can be due to the close distance between the two, similar economic systems, differences in wages and price levels, and that the two cities have different systems compared to other Chinese cities, with Hong Kong embracing the one country, two systems principle while Shenzhen is a Special economic zones of China, SEZ.
From the establishment of Shenzhen as a SEZ in 1980 to 2007, Hong Kong has been Shenzhen's largest trade partner, with exports to Hong Kong accounted for 46.6% of Shenzhen's total exports. In 2015, the total import and export volume of Shenzhen Port to Hong Kong was 1.1 trillion RMB. Both cities had established the Qianhai, Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industries Cooperation Zone within the
Nanshan District which is a free-trade zone that mirrors the economic policies of both cities and to bring Hong Kong closer to Mainland China.
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
estimated that by 2020, Qianhai is expected to create a total output value of 150 billion RMB, with an output of 10 billion RMB per square kilometer. As of 23 February 2021, Qianhai has a total of 11,325 firms from Hong Kong.
As of September 2016, there are nine crossing points on the boundary between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, among which six are land connections. From west to east these include the Shenzhen Bay Port, Futian Port, Huanggang Port, Man Kam To Control Point, Man Kam To Port, Luohu Port and Shatoujiao Port. On either sides of each of these ports of entry are road and/or rail transportation.
[HKG Monthly Digest of Statistics]
Sister cities
Shenzhen has been very active in cultivating sister city relationships. In October 1989, Shenzhen Mayor Li Hao and a delegation travelled to Houston to attend the signing ceremony establishing a sister city relationship between Houston and Shenzhen. Houston became the first sister city of Shenzhen. As of 2015, Shenzhen has established sister city relationship with 25 cities in the world.
, Shenzhen is Sister city, twinned with the following regions, cities, and counties:
* Houston, United States, March 1986
* Brescia, Italy, November 1991
* City of Brisbane, Brisbane, Australia, June 1992
* Poznań, Poland, July 1993
* Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica, March 1995
* Lomé, Togo, June 1996
* Nuremberg, Germany, May 1997
* Walloon Brabant, Belgium, October 2003
* Tsukuba, Japan, June 2004
* Gwangyang, South Korea, October 2004
* Johor Bahru, Malaysia, July 2006
* Perm, Russia, Perm, Russia, 2006
* Turin, Italy, January 2007
* Timișoara, Romania, February 2007
* Kingston upon Hull, Hull, United Kingdom
* Rotherham, United Kingdom, November 2007
* Luxor, Egypt, 6 September 2007
* Reno, Nevada, United States, 30 April 2008
* Samara, Russia, Samara, Russia, 19 December 2008
* Montevideo, Uruguay February 2009
* Kalocsa, Hungary, 2011
* Haifa, Israel, 2012
* Barcelona, Spain, July 2012
* Apia, Samoa, August 2015
* Edinburgh, United Kingdom, June 2019
Other twinnings
The Shenzhen Port is twinned and has collaboration agreements with:
* The Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands June 2013.
El puerto de Santa Cruz y el de Shenzhen, en China, hermanados
/ref>
See also
* Index of Shenzhen-related articles
* Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China
* Economy of China
* List of twin towns and sister cities in China
* Pearl River (China)
* Puxin Biogas
References
Further reading
* - First published on 2010 July 20.
* - Published online on May 16, 2013. Also see working paper titled:
Profile at
ResearchGate an
profile at
Semantic Scholar
*
* - Received on October 12, 2018, accepted for publication on January 7, 2019, and published on January 16, 2019
* - Published online on 21 October 2010.
*
*
* - First published on December 22, 2009
External links
Shenzhen Government Online
ShekouDaily: English Language News and Resources
*
{{Authority control
Shenzhen,
Pearl River Delta
Prefecture-level divisions of Guangdong
Special Economic Zones of China
Sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China
Socialist planned cities
Populated places with period of establishment missing