Shenzhen fishing village 1985, population 25,000
Shenzhen 2007, population 14 million, the fastest urban growth ever:
BY 1996 there were 237 buildings of more than 18 stories
There are currently 347 highrises now, (of which 34 are over 150m, and a further 14 skyscrapers are under construction)
The city is not just highrises, in its latest makeover it now has huge showpiece projects (from the Museum of
Contemporary Art to the new Stock Exchange), sports stadia, parks, a metro, media centres, universities, museums, galleries,
vast public libraries, exhibition centres, upmarket ubermalls, theme parks, even artist colonised warehouse districts, alongside
urban tribes, myriad gay bars, minorities districts, student villages, and edgy fashionable neighbourhoods. Almost overnight it has
morphed from a gritty 90s boomtown to a tertiary city.
Public Library
artist's warehouse district
Museum of Contemporary Art
City Hall
Festivals
Art District
Fairy Lake park
It runs design festivals, marathons, art auctions, major sporting events, fashion shows, architectural biennales and is vying with
Beijing as the art capital of China. Its the richest, densest, fastest growing city in China, but also suffers from crime, a large sex
industry and huge rich-poor discrepancy.