HELLO CHINA

UNDERSTAND CHINA · MODERN HISTORY

Shenzhen

Shenzhen did not suddenly appear on a literal blank sheet. Villages, market towns and the Hong Kong boundary in Bao’an County formed its pre-zone setting. After the city was established in 1979 and the special economic zone in 1980, policy experiments, infrastructure, investment, manufacturing and migration from across China drove rapid expansion.

City timeline

  • 1938—1945 · War, occupation and East River networks — Invading Japanese forces militarily controlled Bao’an and nearby areas, while local resistance and cross-border routes supported rescue, communications and supplies.
  • 1950s—1978 · Border county, overseas ties and collective land — Border institutions, Hong Kong kinship, farming, fishing and collective villages formed the social and spatial base before the zone.
  • 1979 · Shenzhen becomes a city — Bao’an County was reorganised as Shenzhen, and a border area facing Hong Kong took on a new national opening experiment.
  • 1980 · The special economic zone is established — The National People’s Congress Standing Committee approved Guangdong’s special-economic-zone regulations, creating room for experiments in investment, construction and economic management.
  • 1980s—1990s · Infrastructure and manufacturing build the city — Border crossings, roads, industrial zones and housing expanded rapidly, while export-oriented manufacturing attracted large-scale interprovincial migration.
  • 1990s—2000s · Migrant labour, factories and urban villages — Export manufacturing drew millions of interprovincial workers as dormitory factories, collective-land rentals and border logistics sustained expansion.
  • 2010—present · Citywide zone, technology shift and housing pressure — After the internal zone boundary ended, technology and regional integration accelerated while redevelopment, rents and factory relocation reshaped workers’ living space.

Begin with these places

  • Shenzhen Museum reform and opening exhibition — Start with the timeline of city formation, the zone, population and industry.
  • Shekou Industrial Zone and Reform and Opening Museum — Observe port industry, institutional experiments and community building.
  • Luohu crossing, International Trade Centre and Huaqiangbei — Compare border trade, symbols of speed and the electronics economy along one urban axis.