Streets lined with trees - and success

Shenzhen, a well-known symbol of China's opening-up policy, lived up to its billing when I visited it recently.

I peered out of the aircraft window as we descended on the city, built on the shores of the Pearl River Delta, its boundary with Hong Kong.

After reading several reviews of the modern city, I finally had an aerial view of its magnificent landscape, dotted with neatly arranged palm trees, manicured lawns and well-lit boulevards.

Located in the far south of Guangdong province, Shenzhen is a green city unlike other modern Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. Trimmed hedges, theme parks and tree-lined streets account for 45 percent of the urban space.

With a 133-kilometer coastline, the weather in Shenzhen is a subtropical marine climate, typical of any other coastal area. The air is heavy with humidity. I noticed this as soon as I disembarked at Bao'an International Airport, one of the country's most attractive, and the hub of Shenzhen Airlines.

The airport is an architectural masterpiece designed to look like a honeycomb. The design is replicated inside the airport and this allows natural light to filter in. A third terminal is being built and is expected to be bigger than the two current ones combined.

Exactly 20 minutes later, I checked in at Shenzhen Lafonte Hotel and was met by a team of other African journalists on the excursion who arrived three hours earlier. We retired to our rooms eagerly awaiting a busy schedule the next day, during which we were to visit a host of places in the city.

Shenzhen, home to the telecommunications giants Huawei, ZTE and Tencent, has firmly established itself as a leading innovation center in China. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange is one of China's securities exchanges alongside exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

At the Municipal People's Government offices, officials briefed us on the city. Shenzhen has a population of about 11 million in 2,000 square kilometers. Eight of the 100 richest people on last year's Forbes China Rich List are from the city. It is an economically dynamic city with demographics and economic figures that point to its steady rise over the past 30 years. Per capita disposable income is about $6,450.

Shenzhen, a city with such impressive economic credentials and with an increasing number of foreign investors, has the potential to become one of the world's top cites in the foreseeable future.

Philip Etyang is a foreign resident journalist at the International Press Center in Beijing. Contact the writer at etyangphilip@gmail.com.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/23/2014 page26)