china beats: The making of a Chinese boomtown

View from Kingkey 100 (KK100) Tower :: Luohu district :: © Stefan Bader

A small fishing community populated by just around 30.000 souls at the end of the 1970s, the city of Shenzhen has been transformed into an ever-changing urban agglomeration with well over 10 million inhabitants within a very short time.

As the first so-called 'Special Economic Zone (SEZ)', formally established in 1980 (and soon to be followed by Zhuhai, Xiamen and Shantou), the area was designed to become a glittering showcase for Deng Xiaoping's new policies of reform and opening-up to the outside world.

A blueprint for modernization and a vast test field for far-reaching economic, political, social and administrative reforms, the SEZ was made highly attractive to foreign investment by the new Chinese leadership. Easy access to land, the availability of low-cost labour, tax exemptions and other preferential measures as well as the proximity to global player Hong Kong were crucial in drawing potential investors.

Gradually, Shenzhen, not content to be solely the manufacturing hub of southern China, managed to evolve into a leading high-tech metropolis, an international capital market and a bustling commercial city. Some of the biggest and most important Chinese companies, such as Vanke or BYD, are headquartered here, whereas multinationals were eager to open representative offices.

Nowadays, the mega-city in the Pearl River Delta is not only a major economic powerhouse, but also a thriving centre of modern design, progressive architecture, urban planning and the arts.

T he municipal government also strives hard to establish Shenzhen as a tourist magnet able to compete with its closest rival Hong Kong in the near future. Furthermore, it envisions the ideal of a garden city incorporating extensive green spaces to attain the goal of sustainable development.

To be sure, there are still pockets of an older, more tranquil Shenzhen, especially in the so-called 'urban villages (chengzhongcun)' that dot parts of the landscape. Just as in other Chinese metropolises, these originally rural settlements were encircled more and more by an ever-sprawling urban space. They constitute now the preferred living places of migrant workers who cannot afford the high living costs and rents in the city proper.

The best site to get an informed insight into the incredibly rapid urbanization process and the history and heritage of the area is the renowned Shenzhen Museum. Located at one of the tourist hot spots, the Civic Centre (Shimin Zhongxin) with its truly impressive architecture, it is easily reached by using public transport.

The museum currently houses four permanent exhibitions.

The section 'Ancient Shenzhen' traces the beginnings of the settlement from the Neolithic Age to the time of the Qing Dynasty.

Spanning the period from the Kowloon Sea Battle in 1839 to the founding of the PR China in 1949, the part on 'Modern History' highlights the fight against imperialism and feudalism as well as the broader socio-economic developments.

The exhibition 'Folk Culture', on the other hand, mainly showcases traditional handicrafts, scenes of everyday life or important communal festivities.

The collection entitled 'Reform and Opening-up', finally, covers the most recent phase, vividly illustrating the tremendous changes that have taken place in this Chinese boomtown over the last few decades. The rooms dedicated to the reform period are situated on the third floor of the building and are usually much more densely packed with visitors than the other three departments.

On display is an overwhelming wealth of historical photographs, newspaper clippings, copies of important official documents or party resolutions, maps of all shapes and sizes as well as miniature models of parts of the city in different stages of development.

Life-sized dioramas, artifacts from everyday life and interactive multimedia presentations give an immediate impression of the monumental transformation in the very fabric of the city. Dispersed throughout the exhibition are several works of art (mainly statues, and in strictly socialist style, of course).

A section that is extremely popular with visitors features the multitude of industrial products manufactured by the thousands of factories in the SEZ over the years. It feels like time travel as you look amazed at the first mobile phones (still remember how ridiculously big they were?), cameras or other electronic gadgets churned out by local industry for the world market.

Not surprisingly, the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping as the main architect of this remarkable success story, is omnipresent. The museum even put the small bus he used during his inspection tour in 1984 on display.

But the rather heavy dosage of party propaganda in the entire collection notwithstanding, a visit is well worth your time.