The city of Shenzhen in China developed at a rate unseen before in history. Before the 1980′s it was a small fishing village formerly known as Bao’an County (宝安县), today it’s a sprawling city of 12 million+ inhabitants and is still growing. Recently I stumbled across some fascinating pictures showing its development  over the past 30 years which I thought I’d share -

Before (circa 1980):

Shenzhen Bay around Shawei, Shatou and Huanggang – mostly farmland.

During (circa 80′s / early 90′s):

The plan begins to come together with Deng Xiaoping at the helm – Shenzhen Special Economic Zone is born.

After (mid 1990′s):

Southern China has a new financial centre and the second busiest port in China.

I find it uterly incredbile to think that almost within my own lifetime (of 24 years and counting) that a city of this magnitude has sprung up out of the preverbial dust. The perfect storm of  investment, labor and location have come together to product something as scary as it is magnificent in such a short space of time. Tighter integration with Hong Kong will only increase this.

More information -

• Skyscraper City – A Boom City Story
• Skyscraper City – The Fastest Growing City in the World
• More Pictures of Development (here also)

Related posts you might like:

1. Relocating to Shenzhen
2. Shenzhen Skyline
3. 10pm in Shenzhen
4. Shenzhen Land Reclamation
5. Reflections on 10 Months in Shenzhen