Shenzhen is one of the most modern cities in China, having rapidly developed over the past 30 years since its inception as a special economic zone. Walking around its streets there is little to see in the way of history or culture but scratch beneath the surface and there are a few intriguing glimpses of the past to be found.
The last few weeks have been pure madness. After Christmas my plan was to return to Shenzhen from the UK, finish my job, say goodbye to people, pack up my apartment, and then move across to Hong Kong. In the end I only spent 4 days in China before unexpectedly being summoned back to London after some complications with work permits arose.
Shenzhen is generally regarded as the epicenter of the world’s electronics industry with most of the worlds major brands manufacturing their products here. You can find virtually anything you want in the many electronic markets which can be found around the city, most of which are clustered around Hua Cheng Be (Hua Qiang Lu Metro Station, exit A).
Last weekend Shenzhen opened its first Fringe festival centered around Coastal City in Nanshan (where I live) loosely based on the original from Edinburgh. Two weeks of events are planned and proceedings kicked off with a colourful parade with various community groups taking part along Shenzhen Bay Avenue.
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about life in Shenzhen so I thought I’d provide a quick update of what’s been going on the past few weeks. One of the most notable experiences was when an earthquake measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale hit Shenzhen on Friday 19th Nov at 2:42 pm (Beijing time).
For the last few weeks in Shenzhen we’ve been experiencing bouts of torrential rain almost daily and when you add to this the occasional typhoon then you’re in for a fun ride. As an Englishman I’m not usually caught without an umbrella but on the odd occasion I do forget there’s not much to do but find shelter.
I was having lunch at Jin Yue Xuan 金悦轩 dim sum restaurant in Futian (Shenzhen) recently when I noticed something unusual out of the corner of my eye; all the chefs were women. The world of professional cooking is traditionally dominated by men, you only have to look at the celebrity chefs on TV to see the unequal proportions, and in China even more so.
Foxconn is the largest manufacturer of electronics worldwide and companies like Apple and Dell contract them to build/assemble their products at huge factories in places like Shenzhen. They employee over 800,000 people in mainland china alone and a spate of recent suicides have brought into question their employment practices.
The words “culture” and “Shenzhen” are rarely heard together in the same sentence, such is the nature of a young city of immigrants who have come to make their fortune. This isn’t to say there is no culture in Shenzhen but it can be hard to find. One place trying to invigorate Shenzhen’s art scene is OCT-LOFT in Nanshan district where old factory buildings have been renovated into a modern art and cultural center (somewhat similar to Beijing’s 798 district).
One thing Shenzhen is not noted for is its architecture. If ever you wanted to see a vision of communist urban planning turned into a nightmare of concrete uniformity then this is the place to come. It’s like a bunch of uninspired architects were given a massive budget and then vomited a million lifeless tower blocks over green pastures turning them grey.