Shenzhen Travel Guide
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About Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong, China. A special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Dongguan to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, and Macau to the southwest. With a population of 18.2 million in 2025, Shenzhen is the third-most-populous city by urban population in China after Shanghai and Beijing. The Port of Shenzhen is the world's fourth-busiest container port. Shenzhen has established itself as a premier global metropolis with a GDP that has surpassed Hong Kong and Singapore in recent years. Shenzhen was developed from a largely rural village area into a city in 1979. In the early 1980s, the reform and opening up introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in the city becoming the first special economic zone of China due to its close proximity to Hong Kong, attracting foreign direct investment and migrants searching for opportunities. In thirty years, the city's economy and population boomed and has since emerged as a hub for technology, international trade, and finance. As of 2026, Shenzhen has solidified its status as a premier global trading hub, though recent rankings continue to place it alongside other heavyweights like Singapore to rank as the No. 1 mainland Chinese city for foreign trade.
Shenzhen fun facts
- Shenzhen went from a fishing village of 30,000 people to a megacity of over 12 million in just 40 years.
- The city is called the 'Silicon Valley of Hardware' - 90% of the world's electronics are manufactured here.
- Shenzhen has more skyscrapers under construction than any other city in the world.
- The city's average age is just 33, making it one of the youngest major cities in China.