Shenzhen is located at the southern tip of the Chinese mainland and eastern bank of the mouth of the Pearl River and neighbors Hong Kong. The city, which covers an area of 1,953 square kilometers, has a subtropical maritime climate with plenty of rain and sunshine, and is rich in tropical fruit. By the end of 2008, it had 8.7683 million permanent residents, of whom 2.2807 million had a hukou (household registration).

The brainchild of Deng Xiaoping, the country's first special economic zone was also established here by the Chinese Government in May 1980. It has been a touchstone for China's reform and opening policy since then.

In less than 30 years, Shenzhen, a tiny border town of 30,000 people in 1979, has grown into a modern metropolis. It established many firsts in the world's history of industrialization, urbanization and modernization.

A gateway to the world for China, Shenzhen is one of the most developed cities in China and the city that had grown at the fastest speed. Its per capita GDP ranks first among China's major cities.

The city is also the high-tech and manufacturing hub in southern China, the world's fourth-busiest container port, China's fourth-busiest airport and China's fourth-largest tourist destination.

The high-tech, logistics, financial service and cultural industries are mainstays of the city. Shenzhen is the first mainland city that uses green GDP, an index of economic growth with the environmental consequences of that growth factored in, as a performance measure for the city's development. The city's economic development features low-cost, low-energy consumption but high yield and high profit.

Shenzhen has taken the path of independent innovation to build a State-level innovation-oriented city. Over recent years, its number of patent applications has jumped to second place on the mainland. It ranked first in China in the number of patent applications for inventions, China's brand-name products and world-famous brands in China. The city is also well-known for design, boasting more than 6,000 design companies employing a total of more than 60,000 people. On Nov. 19, 2008, Shenzhen was named a member of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network and awarded the title of City of Design by UNESCO.

Shenzhen is an ecological garden city, with more than half of its total area within the nature protection area demarcation line, in which construction is banned. At present the urban greenbelt coverage in developed areas is 45 percent, with a per capita green area of 16 square meters. In recent years, it has won prestigious honors, including Nations in Bloom, UNEP's Global Top 500 Laureate Roll of Honor?National Garden City, National Civilized City and a special gold prize for ozone protection, from international organizations and the Chinese Government.

Shenzhen is a city of love, with a deeply rooted volunteer culture. Voted as China's most favorable city by migrant workers, it undertakes Project Care each year to call for care for disadvantaged groups and has thus been dubbed "a city without winter."

As a picturesque coastal city, Shenzhen is a famous tourist destination in South China and has been listed by the Chinese Government as an Excellent Tourist City. Shenzhen is best known among tourists for its theme parks. Its nature reserves and coastal resorts are also a magnet for world travelers.

Shenzhen will host the Summer Universiade in 2011. It becomes the youngest host city in the Games' history. The Universiade is the third international sports competition to be hosted by a Chinese city after the Beijing Olympic Games and the Asian Games in Guangzhou.

Basics of Shenzhen

The development of Shenzhen, a gateway for China to the outside world, is regarded as epitomizing the country's reform and modernization drive.

Geographic Location

Shenzhen is a coastal city in South China, adjoining Hong Kong. Its longitude lies between 113.46 and 114.37 degrees east, and its latitude is between 22.27 and 22.52 degrees north. Sitting south of the Tropic of Cancer, it is in southern Guangdong Province. Demarcated from Hong Kong by the Shenzhen River in the south, it is bordered by Dongguan and Huizhou in the north, Daya Bay and Dapeng Bay in the east and Lingding Sea and the mouth of the Pearl River in the west.

Natural Resources

The total area of Shenzhen is 1,952.84 square kilometers, and within that, the size of the special economic zone is 395.81 square kilometers.

Shenzhen has more than 310 rivers and streams, which are associated with the hydrographic systems of the Dongjiang River, sea bays and Pearl River mouth. There are 173 reservoirs in the city, with a total volume of 580 million cubic meters. Shenzhen Reservoir in the eastern city has a total volume of more than 40 million cubic meters. It is the main water source for Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Shenzhen has a 230-kilometer-long coastline rich with maritime life and products. Deep-water ports have been built at various locations in the city. Several beautiful mountains range across Shenzhen; the city's highest peak has an altitude of 943.7 meters. The city boasts rich natural resources, ideal for developing tourism. In the east lie the popular beach resorts of Dameisha, Xiaomeisha and Dapeng Bay. In the west are scenic areas, including Mangrove Nature Reserve, Inner Lingding Island and Waterlands Resort.

Demographics

There had been migration into southern Guangdong and what is now Shenzhen since the late Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) but the numbers increased dramatically since Shenzhen was established. By the end of 2008, the permanent resident population reached 8.7683 million, among which 2.2807 million, or 26 percent, had a permanent hukou and 6.496 million were non-hukou households, or 74 percent.

Migrant Culture

As a city of migrants, Shenzhen is open-minded, tolerant and innovative. It is an ideal place for domestic and international talent to start businesses. It has been voted as China's Most Dynamic City and City Most Favored by Migrant Workers.

Languages

Shenzhen is the only city in Guangdong in which Mandarin is the dominant language because of its migrants from all over China. Most public service workers, professionals and businesspeople in the city can speak English. A majority of the young can speak English and Cantonese.  The "Speak. Shenzhen" campaign is being launched across the city to encourage more residents and government employees to learn and speak English.

Climate

Shenzhen is situated in the subtropical part of China, located near the Tropic of Cancer. The weather is generally temperate and mild, with plenty of rain and sunshine. The annual average temperature reaches 22.4 degrees Celsius. A total of 355 days in a year are frost free. The yearly rainfall totals 1,933.3 millimeters and the annual number of hours of sunshine is 2,120.5.

Official Trees and Flower

The litchi and mangrove are Shenzhen's official trees and bougainvillea is its official flower.