Shenzhen History

According to historical records, the name of Shenzhen can be traced back 1,400 years during the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the local people named the drains in paddy fields “zhen”. Shenzhen literally means “deep drains”, with ‘shen’ meaning ‘deep’, due to the area formerly being crisscrossed with waterways including many deep drains in the paddy fields. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Shenzhen was formed as a township, and was then renamed Xin’an and Bao’an.

Shenzhen, formerly known as Bao’an County, was promoted to a city of sub-provincial administrative status by the Chinese central government. In May 1980, it was formally nominated as a “Special Economic Zone” in China under the administration of the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. The once small fishing village of Shenzhen was created as an experimental ground of capitalism espousing “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. Today, Shenzhen has y become one of the economic powerhouses of China, as well as gaining a reputation as the largest manufacturing base in the world.