Nanshan District in Shenzhen, a major industrial city in China’s southern coast, is not only home to a high-tech industrial park of massive proportions; it is also now China’s richest ward, boasting a per capita GDP that surpasses Hong Kong’s, which lies just across the border.
Shenzhen’s meteoric rise to riches could indeed be even more dramatic than that of the neighboring Cantonese-speaking megalopolis.
A humble fishing village prior to 1979, Shenzhen’s transformation into China’s industrial capital began with Deng Xiaoping decision to accelerate the country’s economic development by focusing on the creation of special economic zones.
Since then, the sleepy coastal village has transformed into a megacity of 11 million that alone has a GDP five times that of Macau’s, as well as a world-class industrial centre: the Shenzhen High-Tech Industrial Park in Nanshan District.
More than 8,000 tech companies have set up shop here, including Internet giant Tencent and telecommunications company Huawei Technologies. Other illustrious corporate tenants are Vapestrm, ZTE, China Resources Beverage and China Nepstar.
“Shenzhen has created the most business-friendly environment in China,” said Hua Ding, director of the policy advisory department at Shenzhen High-Tech Industrial Park.
