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CHINA | Shenzhen, China Travel Guide
Thursday, December 26, 2024
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A Brief History of Shenzhen
A Brief History of Shenzhen
From Farm to Financial Hub
Aside from a few ruined settlements here and there, Shenzhen’s history is fairly simple – it was just another rural backwater until 30 years ago. Where farmers once ploughed fields, today city slickers seal deals amidst an expanding forest of skyscrapers. So how did the phenomenon that is Shenzhen come to be? It all comes down to Deng Xiaoping’s economic liberalization in the 1980s. Deng had always been in favor of a free market economy to promote growth and, after Mao Zedong died in 1976, Deng began putting his plans for economic reform into practice. The Pearl River Delta had some of the longest-standing international trading links and its position in the south of Guangdong, far from the watchful eye of Beijing, made an excellent testing ground. Shenzhen was designated as China’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 1979, and its location just along the river (and over the border) from Hong Kong gave the fledgling city a natural advantage as a manufacturing hub. Since its inauguration as an SEZ, growth has remained at an astounding 30% and by the 1990s Shenzhen was responsible for making nearly half the world’s watches and toys. Many of these products were shipped from Shekou, Shenzhen’s principal dock which was reported to be the world’s fourth-largest container port in 1999. While the growth rate has remained stable, business itself has gone through substantial changes; Shenzhen developed as a cheap production center in lieu of Hong Kong and its early days were characterized by migrant workers, sweatshops and seemingly endless construction. However, as the city became more developed and hence more expensive, production moved outwards again and Shenzhen reinvented itself as a financial center, home to South China’s bourse, and has continued to prosper in its redefined role.
The Downside of Development
Shenzhen’s get-rich-quick reputation still endures, however, and this has had some drawbacks – every hustler this side of Beijing has tried to establish himself in this financial frontier town and the city has a decidedly materialistic, edgy feel to it. Crime is higher here than in any other part of China and the hunger for money is almost tangible on the streets. While the environment hasn’t suffered as much as in some of China’s heavy industry zones, it was neglected in the early years of Shenzhen’s development. This is now being remedied to some extent with a wave of new measures – from seawater flushing toilets to energy-saving building projects.
The Future
This miracle city is now firmly entrenched in people’s minds as an example of everything that is good about China’s modern economic policy. Shenzhen is youthful in every way (the average age of residents is just 30) and, like all kids, little by little, the city is coming of age. With this maturity has come stability and a sense of identity that was lacking in the early years. It is still difficult to predict where Shenzhen will be 50, 20 or even 10 years down the line, although one thing seems certain – its days as a rice-farming backwater are well and truly over!
Last updated December 4, 2010
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