History of Shenzhen, China, 26 years of huge changes.

duskdawn · July 9th, 2006, 08:28 PM

The one-time fishing village of Shenzhen, singled out by late Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, is the first of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) of China. It was originally established in 1979 due to its proximity to Hong Kong, then a prosperous British colony. The SEZ was created to be an experimental ground of capitalism in communist China. The location was chosen to attract industrial investments from Hong Kong since the two places share the same language, dialect and culture. The concept proved to be a great success, propelling the further opening up of China and continuous economic reform. Shenzhen eventually became one of the largest cities in the Pearl River Delta region which is one of the economic powerhouses of China and is the largest maufacturing base in the world. --quoted from wikipedia.

25 years ago. A small fishing village.

Some factories and people showed up.

Buildings! Not skysrapers though...

Still not many.

Preparing for the new avenue.

Avenue complete.

Hmmm, much better.

Like a small town.

Cranes and the new city showed up.

Getting crowded.

Skyscrapers!

Population rushed in.

A city of construction.

You can now call it "big".

Getting attractive.

Expanded around the lake.

Skyscrapers getting more.

Try to build new high.

Ambitions in 1996

10 Years ago.

A modern city.

The same avenue today.

New skyscrapers never stop showing up.

Hong Kong's new brother.

staff · July 9th, 2006, 08:52 PM

Awesome thread! I've been looking for old Shenzhen photos for quite some time now!

Thanks a lot of sharing.

ZimasterX · July 9th, 2006, 11:46 PM

Very interesting, especially the first couple of photos. I always been curious on how Chinese cities looked like before the 1990s.

vipermkk · July 9th, 2006, 11:47 PM

An absolute miracle of China though some pics were misplaced in order

Luis_RiodeJaneiro · July 10th, 2006, 02:06 AM

fantastic historic thread ! I love the architecture in Shenzen and it was very nice to see the old village transforming itself in this modern updated megalopolis !

BigChina · July 10th, 2006, 06:50 AM

yeah..

Does the road is the same one?

stone · July 10th, 2006, 11:15 AM

miracle of capitalism under an authoritarian administration

WhiteMagick · July 10th, 2006, 11:24 AM

Shezhen has truly become a metropolis from a small village in just 25 years. It is amazing.

China_winson · July 10th, 2006, 12:01 PM

interesting explaination!!! however I has posted a similar thread before... anyway, Thanks!!!

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=330015

staff · July 10th, 2006, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krasnaya Zima

I always been curious on how Chinese cities looked like before the 1990s.

Well, Shenzhen isn't really the typical Chinese city, since it has literally expanded from a fishing village to a huge metropolis in some 25 years. Most other major cities in China has been big for a long time, just like European cities.

opium · July 11th, 2006, 12:44 AM

Now that's the communism Karl Marx was talking about.

xfogus · July 11th, 2006, 01:24 AM

Wow, thats pretty impressive

deadmaker7 · July 11th, 2006, 02:08 AM

Holy crap

that's amazing! Thanks for posting.

urban_phx · July 11th, 2006, 03:01 AM

Wow it really took off

Monzaemon · March 20th, 2010, 11:44 AM

amazing lol, while some cities like shanghai and beijing are centuries old, shenzhen just in 30 years gets the same population and probably just as rich as those cities too, only thing though, is no history lol

Nightsky · March 20th, 2010, 03:08 PM

Interesting, Shenzhen must have been one of the fastest growing cities in modern times!

Assurbanipal · March 20th, 2010, 08:34 PM

Just awesome!

Scion · March 30th, 2010, 04:23 AM

All thanks to this guy

Scion · March 30th, 2010, 04:24 AM

Scion · March 30th, 2010, 04:25 AM

edit

July 9th, 2006, 08:28 PM	#1
duskdawn My Heart is with Beijing. Join Date: May 2006 Location: Beijing - Cleveland Posts: 1,824 Likes (Received): 1	History of Shenzhen, China, 26 years of huge changes. The one-time fishing village of Shenzhen, singled out by late Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, is the first of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) of China. It was originally established in 1979 due to its proximity to Hong Kong, then a prosperous British colony. The SEZ was created to be an experimental ground of capitalism in communist China. The location was chosen to attract industrial investments from Hong Kong since the two places share the same language, dialect and culture. The concept proved to be a great success, propelling the further opening up of China and continuous economic reform. Shenzhen eventually became one of the largest cities in the Pearl River Delta region which is one of the economic powerhouses of China and is the largest maufacturing base in the world. --quoted from wikipedia. 25 years ago. A small fishing village. Some factories and people showed up. Buildings! Not skysrapers though... Still not many. Preparing for the new avenue. Avenue complete. Hmmm, much better. Like a small town. Cranes and the new city showed up. Getting crowded. Skyscrapers! Population rushed in. A city of construction. You can now call it "big". Getting attractive. Expanded around the lake. Skyscrapers getting more. Try to build new high. Ambitions in 1996 10 Years ago. A modern city. The same avenue today. New skyscrapers never stop showing up. Hong Kong's new brother. __________________ 孟子有曰，故天將降大任于是人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，曾益其所不能。 -♡=Chinese Modernity=-♡-=Chinese Girls II=-♡-=Chinese Gilrs I Archive=♡- I'm Back in China.

July 9th, 2006, 08:52 PM	#2
staff 囧! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne \| Malmö-Copenhagen \| Shanghai Posts: 10,585 Likes (Received): 23	Awesome thread! I've been looking for old Shenzhen photos for quite some time now! Thanks a lot of sharing. __________________ >> flickr

July 10th, 2006, 06:50 AM	#6
BigChina China run fastly Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 228 Likes (Received): 0	yeah.. Does the road is the same one? __________________ [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] China is booming now

July 10th, 2006, 12:01 PM	#9
China_winson Shenzhenese Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Shenzhen Posts: 777 Likes (Received): 0	interesting explaination!!! however I has posted a similar thread before... anyway, Thanks!!! http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=330015 __________________ Click following to Shenzhen Skyline//Shenzhen Suburban Planning//Intoxicating Pix//Shenzhen Library//Luohu District//DaFen Oil Painting Village//Shenzhen Bay//Shenzhen CBD//Your City Profile//A Boom City story//Happy Valley//Silence Shenzhen//Chinese New Year//Buildings in Shenzhen//Shenzhen Children's Palace//Great China's Malls//Christmas in Shenzhen//Shekou//Dameisha Beach//the MIXC Mall//Hong Fa Temple and More mainland China......

March 20th, 2010, 03:08 PM	#16
Nightsky Illustrator Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Malmö Posts: 3,600 Likes (Received): 35	Interesting, Shenzhen must have been one of the fastest growing cities in modern times! __________________ Dark as the day, light as the night Website about my travels and buildings in USA and Europe -many cool pics: http://www.worldtravelimages.net All my diagram drawings - more than 700!: http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?14670510 My latest drawings: http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?14670500

July 9th, 2006, 11:46 PM	#3
ZimasterX Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,887 Likes (Received): 2	Very interesting, especially the first couple of photos. I always been curious on how Chinese cities looked like before the 1990s.

July 9th, 2006, 11:47 PM	#4
vipermkk Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 399 Likes (Received): 0	An absolute miracle of China though some pics were misplaced in order

July 10th, 2006, 02:06 AM	#5
Luis_RiodeJaneiro Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Rio de Janeiro Posts: 4,725 Likes (Received): 9	fantastic historic thread ! I love the architecture in Shenzen and it was very nice to see the old village transforming itself in this modern updated megalopolis !

July 10th, 2006, 11:15 AM	#7
stone Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 84 Likes (Received): 0	miracle of capitalism under an authoritarian administration

July 10th, 2006, 11:24 AM	#8
WhiteMagick Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 10,494 Likes (Received): 68	Shezhen has truly become a metropolis from a small village in just 25 years. It is amazing.

July 11th, 2006, 12:44 AM	#11
opium BANNED Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Seattle US/ Moscow RU Posts: 343 Likes (Received): 0	Now that's the communism Karl Marx was talking about.

July 11th, 2006, 01:24 AM	#12
xfogus Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 240 Likes (Received): 0	Wow, thats pretty impressive

July 11th, 2006, 02:08 AM	#13
deadmaker7 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Clementon, NJ Posts: 211 Likes (Received): 0	Holy crap that's amazing! Thanks for posting.

July 11th, 2006, 03:01 AM	#14
urban_phx Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Phoenix Posts: 124 Likes (Received): 0	Wow it really took off

March 20th, 2010, 11:44 AM	#15
Monzaemon Registered User Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 84 Likes (Received): 0	amazing lol, while some cities like shanghai and beijing are centuries old, shenzhen just in 30 years gets the same population and probably just as rich as those cities too, only thing though, is no history lol

March 20th, 2010, 08:34 PM	#17
Assurbanipal Fallout Believer Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Orzysz/Bialystok Posts: 1,846 Likes (Received): 40	Just awesome! __________________ It is official - Grand Depression v 2.0 is near

March 30th, 2010, 04:23 AM	#18
Scion Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hong Kong, Shenzhen Posts: 3,002 Likes (Received): 74	All thanks to this guy

March 30th, 2010, 04:24 AM	#19
Scion Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hong Kong, Shenzhen Posts: 3,002 Likes (Received): 74

March 30th, 2010, 04:25 AM	#20
Scion Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hong Kong, Shenzhen Posts: 3,002 Likes (Received): 74	edit

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