Shenzhen

Geography

Shenzhen covers a surface of: 2020 km ². Located at the one of the ends of the Delta of the River of the Pearls, Shenzhen, bordering on HongKong in the south, is surrounded by hills in north. The city includes/understands a whole of districts whose Baoan in Buji, but only the districts of Nanshan, Futian and Luohu belong to the special economic Zone (ZES). It is located at 160 km in the south-east of Guangzhou, 70 km in the south-east of Dongguan and 35 km in the north of HongKong.

Shenzhen is connected to Hong-Kong by train or boat, and constitutes an outpost towards the industrial province of Guangdong. The urban fabric intensifies between Shenzhen and Guangzhou, with in the medium the town of Dongguan, whose borders are erased gradually to constitute only one and even mégapole industrial.

Shenzhen is a city all in length, and it takes sometimes more than one hour and half to traverse it from one end to another. Its district is, Luohu, is the Chinese part, which makes it possible to join Hong-Kong by the ground; in its center, the district of businesses of Futian; in the west, Shekou, the residential district expatriates, or gather: 7000 foreigners. This district, harbor preserved for the expatriates, developed in contact with Hong-Kong, with the establishment of petrochemical companies and their offshore oil rig activities and of refining in the Années 1980. The prostitution, however, is endemic there.

It is one of the rare Chinese cities or a plan urban with the modern direction of the term is visible: green areas, appreciable in the polluted province of Guangdong, were arranged.

Shenzhen accommodated a walk of the opposition to spring 1989, one of the gardens surpomblant the city, is surmounted by a statue of Deng Xiaoping, the chief of the government lasting this opposition.

A Airline company bears the name of this city: Shenzhen Airlines .

The policy of environment

The expansion of Shenzhen rests in with the first place on industrial development, it results from it from the problems concerning the environment. These problems become clear as from the Nineties, it becomes necessary to improve quality of industrial development to protect the environment. Firstly, it was important to create a reasonable balance between industrial development and environment. The environment was polluted too much by industry. For that, one decided to control and protect urban surface from activity with a planning respecting the city. Moreover, one decided to clear more surface and to improve the ecological system. The ecological system was improved by the turfing and protection of the space which was not designed to increase the city. Secondly, one started to respect vital space. One built a theater, a library and a center of sport for the population. After 1989, one built cultural buildings and of a certain level, p. e.g. “the gallery of Shanyue”. Moreover, one builds new districts with social centres for the inhabitants, of the rooms of music, the centers for the young people and other services in the fields of health, the sport, the religion, education and the culture. One envisaged much place for these buildings because they show the importance of the culture with Shenzhen. Thirdly one fixed oneself like drank to increase the quality of the city and to facilitate the urbanization. The needs for the population were not important, it counts only the industrial development of Shenzhen. Since 1969, one tries to make repair the negligences in form of the commercial streets and the centers with shops. Moreover, there were great projects to embellish the districts with measurements such as the plantation of trees and lighting. Like that, one improved the phenotype of the city. Remainder, there was research to find a possibility of adapting the industrial development and the planning of the city. The goal is a homogeneous mixture of the two terms. To guarantee that this new urban development to put it the human being at the center of all, there be openings for worms international projects.

The relation between HongKong and Shenzhen

The two cities include/understand a surface of 3000km ². In comparison with Shanghai surface, it is only one half. But the two cities are an open door for the world. After the restitution of HongKong in China, the two cities are melting itself more and more with regard to the infrastructure and the daily life. The border is not any more one large barrier. The population makes the shuttle between the two cities to return to the house, to make races and for the leisures (p.ex. in the concerts). The projects to improve the infrastructure and its progress supports this migration of to and from. The nuclear center “Dayawan” of Shenzhen brings energy corresponding to half of the energy needs of HongKong. And even the foodstuffs come mainly from Shenzhen. One can note a strong co-operation in science and the technique, this co-operation creates a new meeting between the two cities (p.ex. the four famous universities of Honk Kong settle in Shenzhen). With dimensions cities approach, but of another with dimensions there are differences, p. e.g. an immense disparity of the prices. The report/ratio with regard to the income and the rent for the offices is of 3: 1. Because of certain restrictions (personnel, goods and money) one can note an asymmetrical development between Shenzhen and HongKong. The apartments with Shenzhen are gravitational for the population of HongKong. The citizens of HongKong are interested for the town of Shenzhen. It is the primary reason for which there are many inhabitants of Honk Kong who want to invest in Shenzhen. The investments of HongKong are the principal financial source flowing in Shenzhen. In 2001 the investments rise with 1,94 mdUSD, i.e. 53,84% of the totality of the investments. Since the foundation of the city until today, the investments of HongKong are assembled to 16,72 mdUSD (62,8% of the investments foreign). At the end of 2000, there were 9300 companies based on invested of HongKong. But the situation starts to change. HongKong becomes gravitational, also for the population of Shenzhen. That causes an increasing and reciprocal economic influence between the two cities.

Monuments

Scrape-ciels

One finds there the Shun Hing Square, which top of its 384 m is one of the 10 larger Gratte-ciel in the world and was a long time largest of Asia.

Shun Hing Public garden: 384 m (1996)
SEG Plaza: 292 m (346 m with antenna) (2000)
Special Shenzhen Zone Close Tower: 262 m (1998)
Shenzhen Broadcasting Center Building: 241 m (2001)
Panglin Plaza: 240 m (1999)
New World Center: 238 m (2006)
Golden delicious Center Business: 228 m (2004)
Shenzhen World Trade Center: 225 m (2001)
World Finance Center, Tower: 222 m (2003)
Times Square: 218 m (2006)

projects:

AVIC Plaza : 312 m and 62 stages

Culture

Park with topic Window on the World

Education

Shenzhen University
Shenzhen Polytechnic

Economy

Shenzhen is the most developed city of continental China. In 2006, total GDP was of 568,4 billion Yuan S, and the GDP per capita of: 8619 U.S.dollars.

Twinnings

(March)
(May)
(July)
(May)

Administrative divisions

The under-provincial city of Shenzhen exerts its jurisdiction on six districts :

the district of Bao' year - 宝安区 Bǎo' ān Qū ;
the district of Futian - 福田区 Fútián Qū ;
the district of Longgang - 龙岗区 Lónggǎng Qū ;
the district of Luohu - 罗湖区 Luóhú Qū ;
the district of Nanshan - 南山区 Nánshān Qū ;
the district of Yantian - 盐田区 Yántián Qū .

Anecdote

the Canadian author of cartoons Guy Delisle told in a book éponyme ( Shenzen , 2000) its stay in the city, where he worked, insistent on its difficulty of communicating with the Chinese and the aspects more rejecting of a company in full change.

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