Shenzhen

Lore & Background

Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong, China, situated on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary along the central coast of the province. It borders Hong Kong to the south, Dongguan to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, and Macau to the southwest. As of 2020, its population reached 17.5 million, making it the third-most-populous urban area in China after Shanghai and Beijing. The city was developed from a largely rural village area into a city in 1979. Its defining characteristic is its status as China’s first special economic zone, established in the early 1980s under Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening-up policy, leveraging its proximity to Hong Kong to attract foreign investment and migrants. This spurred rapid economic and population growth, transforming it into a global hub for technology, international trade, and finance. Shenzhen is home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, one of the world’s largest by market capitalization, and the Guangdong Free-Trade Zone. Its Port of Shenzhen is the world’s fourth-busiest container port. The city has the second-largest number of skyscrapers globally, the fifth-highest number of billionaires, and the seventh-most Fortune Global 500 headquarters. Its nominal GDP has surpassed those of neighboring Guangzhou and Hong Kong, ranking among the ten largest economies of any city worldwide. Known as China’s Silicon Valley, it hosts major technology firms such as Huawei, Tencent, DJI, and Oppo, and is the largest automobile manufacturing city in China, with BYD Company’s main operations. The population skews younger than most Chinese cities, with many migrants from across the country. Historically, the area was inhabited from the mid-Neolithic period, with historic counties established 1,700 years ago and towns like Nantou and Dapeng built over 600 years ago. The name “Shenzhen” was chosen in 1978 by Xi Zhongxun, then Party Secretary of Guangdong, referring to a deep drain in local paddy fields.

Reader's Guide

Shenzhen's significance lies in its transformation from a largely rural village into a premier global metropolis and special economic zone, a model of China's reform and opening up. Its GDP has surpassed those of neighboring Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and it is now a city with one of the ten largest economies in the world. The city is a global technology hub, sometimes called China's Silicon Valley, home to large technology corporations such as Huawei, Tencent, DJI, and Oppo. It hosts the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, one of the largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization, and the Guangdong Free-Trade Zone. It is also the eighth-most competitive and largest financial center in the world, and the world's 18th largest city by scientific research output. A large portion of Shenzhen's population are migrants from all over China, and the city's population structure skews younger than most cities in China.

Did You Know?

• Shenzhen was named after a deep drain in paddy fields, with 'zhen' meaning 'ditch' or 'drain'.
• Shenzhen railway station was the last stop on the mainland Chinese section of the Kowloon–Canton Railway.
• Shenzhen is the largest automobile manufacturing city in China, home to the main operations of BYD Company.