Shenzhen: Miracle or Manufactured Metropolis?

45 years ago Shenzhen was an unimpressive fishing village, located on the equally uninspired south coast of China. Today, it is a buzzing metropolis that is home to 15+ million people. So, how did this sparsely populated fishing village - unknown to the rest of China and the world alike – become one of the 21st century’s biggest megacities?

Shenzhen: Civic Centre

Geographical Jackpot:

If I were to give you a map and ask you to point at a part of China that could link the Mainland to the entire Asia-Pacific region, your finger would probably not land too far away from Shenzhen. You can literally walk to Hong Kong, or get to Macau in about an hour on the ferry - making two of the most important regions in the Asia-Pacific region easily accessible from the Mainland. Just as Alexandria became Egypt’s gateway to Europe and the Middle East because of its strategic geographical position, Shenzhen is situated perfectly to become China’s gateway to the financial megacities of the Asia-Pacific region.

Special Economic Zone:

As you approach Luohu District from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, you will see the famous picture which commemorates the man who’s vision planted the seeds for Shenzhen’s miraculous growth: Deng Xiaoping. In 1979, Deng Xiaoping, the then CCP leader, granted Shenzhen it’s unique status as a ‘Special Economic Zone’. This moment provided the catalyst for Shenzhen’s half-century of miraculous growth; from this point on, Shenzhen has developed from a backwater fishing village, into a true global metropolis.

Socialism with Chinese Characteristics:

This is a slogan that you will see brandished on pamphlets and advertising campaigns in Shenzhen. Although it is quite an ambiguous term, there are a couple of central tenets that makes the phrase ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ easier to understand.

1. Goods and services that are essential to human existence are overseen by a rigorous central government. This ensures that things such as food, energy, and transportation are easily accessible for everyone. This is the ‘socialism’ aspect of the slogan.

2. Goods and services that are superfluous to human existence operate within a completely free market. This gives plenty of scope for entrepreneurialism and allows some of the most luxurious brands in the world to operate in Shenzhen – consumerism is unquestionably a ‘Chinese Characteristic’.