Shenzhen: A city of miracles, modernization, and dreams

Photo shows Shenzhen skyline from Wutong Mountain in Luohu district Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province (People's Daily Online/Michael Kurtagh)

I was privileged enough to participate in a five-day tour of the city of Shenzhen, located in south China's Guangdong Province, alongside my colleagues at People's Daily Online. Organized and led by the wonderful People's Daily Online Shenzhen office, we explored a variety of tourist, commercial, cultural, and natural sites across several districts in the city.

As someone who was making their first visit to the city, the trip was an eye-opening experience of what is without a doubt one of the most impressive cities in the world.

The Chinese Miracle

While many people outside of China may know of Shenzhen as the mega city and tech hub that it is today, few know its humble roots.

Prior to 1979, Shenzhen city technically didn't even exist. Shenzhen was but a small fishing town with a population of around 25,000 that was located in Bao'an county, which itself only had a population of a little over 300,000 residents. The province it is located in, Guangdong Province, at that time had a per capita GDP of only 370 yuan (around $50.88 at today's exchange rate).

Everything changed in 1979 though, when Bao'an county was established as Shenzhen city and named China's first special economic zone.

Photo shows robots on display at the Longgang Universiade Center in Longang district, Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (People's Daily Online/Michael Kurtagh)

Over four decades, Shenzhen's GDP skyrocketed from 196 million yuan in 1979 to 3.46 trillion yuan by 2023, reflecting an extraordinary annual growth rate of well over 20 percent. Its urbanization rate has reached 100 percent, with the city now housing more than 20 million people, many of whom are young, skilled professionals driving the city's innovation efforts. The city's infrastructure has evolved from a barren expanse into a global leader in green urban planning, with an extensive metro network, a world-class port, and a thriving airport connecting it to the world.

The city now sits as China's equivalent to Silicon Valley, boasting world renowned technology companies like Huawei, Tencent, BYD, BGI, DJI, and SenseTime.

Shenzhen's rise embodies the Chinese Miracle and the success of China's reform and opening-up policies. The city stands as a sterling example of how rapid development can align with sustainability, governance, and social transformation.

A model of Chinese modernization

My People's Daily Online Shenzhen colleague informed me that the highlights of our visit to Guangming district would be corn, dairy products, and roasted pigeon. In my mind, the district must be an agriculturally focused area of the city, potentially a breadbasket-like place for the rest of the city's more urban-focused districts. Instead, I was greeted by a district leading Shenzhen's charge to solidify its position as "China's Silicon Valley."

Guangming district contained branches for many of the city's best universities, nationally renowned science centers, and internationally focused research centers like the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation. The corn, pigeon, and dairy products were delicious as promised, but the integration of urban and rural, humanity with nature, is something I've rarely seen during my travels across the world. While Shenzhen is a city of the future, Guangming district should certainly be viewed as a major part of the future of Shenzhen.

Photo shows part of the Shenzhen skyline from Shenzhen Talent Park in Nanshan district, Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province (People's Daily Online/ Michael Kurtagh)

While the contrast between the two sides may have been at its most apparent in Guangming district, I found in our visits across the city the constant emphasis on maintaining or creating spaces devoted to nature even if those areas are at the forefront of development and modernization. This emphasis aligns perfectly with Chinese modernization's principle of harmony between humanity and nature.

Shenzhen Talent Park in the city's Nanshan district may well be one of the most beautiful I've visited with the city's skyline in the distance, wonderful greenery, and fantastic views of the Shenzhen River. Within that same bastion of nature, you can also find some of the coolest technology that I've ever seen. Our group was able to enjoy milk tea delivered to us, a common occurrence across China, but instead of scooter-driving delivery drivers, we were provided our beverages by a constant stream of drones.

In Longgang district, the International Low Carbon City demonstrated the city's efforts in continuing their development in a way that benefits both humanity and nature. The district's Dafen Oil Painting Village, which is China's largest center for the production and trading of the art, also embodied how the city values maintaining a culturally enriching environment alongside its economic development, an effort that exemplifies Chinese modernization's principle of material and cultural-ethical advancement. Similarly, Luohu district's Shuibei Jewelry Park, a major center for the trading of precious gems and jewelry, housed the fantastic and culturally rich Shenzhen Jewelry Museum, showing again the integration of material things with culture.

Equally impressive was how in every district I visited, development was being pushed in sustainable and healthy ways with no district seemingly being left behind. Chinese modernization is the modernization of a massive population, and no city may be doing as good a job as Shenzhen at spreading out the riches of modernization so that people across all different parts of the city can prosper together. Every district we visited, whether it be Guangming or Longgang, Yantian or Luohu, Futian or Nanshan, all had wonderful programs centered on development while maintaining the harmony between humanity and nature. The result is a city where even with a massive population of 20 million people, you feel there is space for each and every person to grow and prosper, supporting the Chinese modernization principle of common prosperity for all.

The Shenzhen Dream

What stood out to me most about my visit was the people of Shenzhen. I've called Beijing home during the entirety of my time living in China, and there's a certain contrast that exists between Beijing locals and those who come from afar to work here. The city's culture is also constantly present, and you can feel the deep history of the city every day. I've felt similar feelings when visiting other cities across the country, with each city and its local people leaving a strong imprint on how daily life works.

Shenzhen wasn't like that. During my entire visit in Shenzhen, I met a total of two people who actually grew up in the city, and they still considered the hometowns of their parents as their place of origin. The result is a dynamic that reminds me of my home, the United States, more than any other place in China. With only 200 plus years of history, the US is a relative toddler compared to other nations around the world. This has resulted in the US being a blank canvas for people around the world to try to create their own legacy, leaving their homes to set out to achieve the "American Dream."

Journalists listen to a presentation of a model of the Future Complex at the Shenzhen International Low Carbon City in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (People's Daily Online/ Konstantinos Papathanasiou)

My talks with people in Shenzhen gave extremely similar vibes, with people across China hoping to make their mark and establish themselves in the city. Many that I talked to had been in the city for less than a year, and all agreed that they were hoping to advance themselves beyond what may have been possible in their hometowns. It was a spirit that as an American I felt very much in tune with, and seeing the city and what it offered, I couldn't help but feel a similar way. In a nation with thousands of years of history, the chance to be a part of something new, to join a city that only 50 years ago was just a fishing village, is an enticing opportunity for anyone.

It's no surprise that a well known saying in the city is "When you come to Shenzhen, you become a Shenzhener."

I came away from my visit with one major thought, and that was more people need to know about Shenzhen. More people around the world need to know about this miracle city born out of reform and opening up. More people need to know how this city is driving Chinese modernization to new heights, showing how the development of a massive population can go hand in hand with sustainability and balancing the needs of people and nature. More people need to know that even in a nation like China with thousands of years of history, there are new places where people can go to chase their dreams and make their mark on the world.

Shenzhen is a city where miracles have happened, modernization is occurring, and dreams are being chased. The world should know.