Shenzhen (SEZ)

Sheko, Shenzhen
(View from Kevin & Alan's balcony)

Just over thirty years ago, Shenzhen was just another fishing village in south mainland China, less than an hour drive from Hong Kong. Deng Xiopeng's economic reforms created the first Special Economic Zone and transformed the fishing village into the second largest exporting port in China (Shanghai is the largest) and today the chips inside the computer you are currently using were made in Shenzhen. It has some of the largest technology manufacture factories in the world and is known for the Foxxcon factory. (Widely known for the # of suicides last summer) Deng Xiopeng is considered a hero, a God, to most Shenzhen residents because the transformation into the factory coastal city created jobs and allowed many Chinese families to come to the city and escape rural poverty. While industrial jobs in Shenzhen have extremely poor conditions and some of the lowest wages in the world, they are considered much better than living day to day in the country farming.

"Average" income apartment building

There are sooooo many people in Shenzhen. Well, in all of China in general. I mean look at these towers. How many people in an Appt? How many appts per tower? There were A LOT of appt towers.... 

I lived in Shenzhen for 7 weeks this past summer. It's definitely not the college student's ideal summer location, but it was a huge learning experience in better understanding the realities of daily life for many Chinese families. The SEZ has created a huge divide between the low income and high income residents. While I tutored kids of rich families and interacted with my host mother than was marketing CEO or something of a company, she had a cook and cleaner, there were homeless, there were many in the informal sector. The inequality was evident and extremely engrained in society. Gated communities enclosed the rich families in sort of American suburbia enclaves. I will never forget the father of one of my students standing on hi balcony overlooking the gated-community's pool and saying "Just like America!"

Gated-community pool from balcony

Yes, China wants to be just like America. But bigger, and better.

What that means and what is coming I'm not sure. But Shenzhen cannot be overlooked because it is a big part of the development process of China and contributing to China's path toward 'super-power-dom.'

Me, Vera, Karly at top of important park,
over looking Shenzhen