While in China, Visit Shenzhen
In the 1970s, on the borders of Hong Kong in China, there was a simple and very rural hamlet train station called Bao’an. By the 1980s, the first office foundations were dug in the borders and Chinese delegations from all over the country were coming in droves to learn how to reconstruct their businesses. They were attracted by the incentives-based economy of Shenzhen.
The city had four harbours by the 1990s as well as manufacturing industries that grossed up to more than $2 billion US dollars which caused the construction of a nuclear power station to address the energy needs of the locality. Shenzhen today sees over a dozen 200 metre tall buildings and is the top producer of IPods and Apple computers.
Capitalism in the People’s Republic of China was not caused by the capitalism that developed in Shenzhen. However, the city is a prime example of what capitalism is all about. In fact, Deng Xiaoping in his 1992 “Southern Tour” specifically chose Shenzhen to be the stage for his famous speech of “Poverty is not Socialism: to get rich is glorious”, which soon became known as the signal or the turning point that China was finally shifting its stand on economics and capitalism. That speech opened China to the world and caused its financial boom.
However, soon, the high-rises that rose over Shenzhen were soon over shadowed by other places within China’s horizon and today Shenzhen is no longer that unique. Today, the city is filled to the max with hotels, beggars, pickpockets and such, something which cannot be prevented in any metropolitan area.
However, the area offers great services including transportation. Here one can take a flight to other provinces and cities in China which offers considerably cheaper rates than those offered by Hong Kong International Airport. Hong Kong is just a one hour ferry ride and many residents, visitors and tourists of Hong Kong enjoy the short journey for cheap shopping, great dining and spa adventures.
There are no sights to see like those in Macau and nearby Guangzhou, however, it has a magic of its own that cannot be denied. And anyway, the electronics here are really, really cheap!