Vibe in Shenzhen: a metropolis in S China bustling with modern vitality

Shenzhen, located in south China’s Guangdong Province and bordering Hong Kong, is known as being the city at the forefront of China’s reform and opening-up. Through 45 years of ceaseless efforts, the once obscure fishing village has transformed into a globally-renowned metropolis.

Rooted in profound Chinese culture and tradition, and keeping in line with the times, the city is striving to build itself into a hub of fashion industries, with featured sectors such as watches, jewelry, clothes, and glasses.

Additionally, old and new landmarks scattered across the city serve as a strong draw for visitors in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and beyond.

Booming fashion industries

Inside a watch and clock museum set up by FIYTA, a Shenzhen-headquartered watch maker, watches designed under different themes and crafted through various techniques are exhibited, offering a glimpse of Shenzhen’s vibrant watch industry.

“Out of every ten watches produced around the world, four are from Shenzhen,” said Zhang Jianfeng, curator of the museum, adding that though the watch and clock industry is small in scale, it has a great impact on many other industries. The watch itself is a perfect mix of art and skill, he noted.

Zhang Jianfeng, curator of a watch and clock museum set up by FIYTA, a Shenzhen-headquartered watch maker, shows visitors around in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Nov. 13, 2023. (People’s Daily Online/Lu Yang)

When traditional Chinese culture is integrated into the watch design, watches are given more aesthetic value, turning them from a tool for telling the time into a stylish accessory. The company has manufactured watches with faces decorated with Suzhou embroidery artworks and themed on Dunhuang culture, exuding an air of elegance and antiquity.

A watch can also be a carrier of advanced technologies. Starting with the Shenzhou-5 mission, the company’s aerospace-oriented watches have become a reliable partner for Chinese taikonauts, witnessing China’s progress in space exploration.

Photo shows aerospace-oriented watches designed by FIYTA, a Shenzhen-headquartered watch maker, in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Nov. 13, 2023. (People’s Daily Online/Lu Yang)

Statistics released by Shenzhen Watch and Clock Association show that as of 2021, the output of Chinese watches accounts for 80 percent of the world’s total, while Shenzhen’s output makes up 53 percent of the country’s total and 42 percent the globe’s.

Gold and jewelry is another calling card of Shenzhen’s fashion industry.

At the Shuibei market, a gold and jewelry manufacturing and trading hub in Luohu district, Shenzhen, where nearly 7,000 related companies are assembled, glittering gold and jewels become a tapestry of ornaments, drawing huge crowds of customers.

Shenzhen Jewelry Museum, China’s first jewelry-themed public museum, is nestled in a quiet corner of the market, tucked away from all the hustle and bustle. It houses a kaleidoscope of mineral crystals and jewels, displays exquisite artworks and crafting techniques, and records how the city’s jewel industry grew along with China’s reform and opening-up drive.

Photo shows a jewelry artwork exhibited at the Shenzhen Jewelry Museum in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Nov. 14, 2023. (People’s Daily Online/Chang Sha)

Batar Group, a leading player in China’s gold and jewelry manufacturing sector, was also founded in Shenzhen. The company fully leverages the properties of precious metal to integrate traditional Chinese culture into product design, such as a gold foil-made version of “Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains,” a hand scroll painting created by Wang Ximeng of China's Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

The encounter between priceless jewels and iconic cultural elements enriches the offerings of the jewelry industry and endows Chinese culture with another hue of everlasting charm.

According to the Shenzhen Gold and Jewelry Association, Shenzhen is home to more than 15,000 registered incorporated enterprises in the gold and jewelry sector as of 2021, employing 250,000 people.

Photo shows two enameled bowls exhibited at the Shenzhen Jewelry Museum in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Nov. 14, 2023. (People’s Daily Online/Chang Sha)

Dynamic city landmarks

Against the nightscape of Shenzhen’s Baoan district, cars stream across the roads, resembling hundreds of moving light strips, and the dazzling brilliance of the buildings casts a shadow on calm waters. Out of the city’s hazy outline at night, a huge shining structure emerges - the Bay Glory Ferris wheel.

The city’s highest Ferris wheel, it stands at a height of 128 meters, with 28 imported cars, proving to be an ideal choice for those eager to embark on a romantic journey in Shenzhen. A roughly 30-minute tour in the air provides a panoramic view, allowing visitors to take in the city’s vitality.

Officially opened to public in April 2021, the Ferris wheel has become a new landmark in Shenzhen, and even the entire GBA.

Photo shows the Bay Glory Ferris wheel in Baoan district, Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Nov. 13, 2023. (People’s Daily Online/Lu Yang)

Zooming in on a dense cluster of commercial buildings in Luohu district reveals a more down-to-earth side of Shenzhen. The Dongmen pedestrian street is bustling with activity, its air sweet with the tantalizing aroma of food, its night scene lit up by bright colors, and its background filled with a myriad of sounds.

It houses stores and markets of different sizes selling different commodities, catering for a diversity of demand and attracting consumers of all ages. Here, one can find traces of China’s opening-up history, such as the first McDonald's in the Chinese mainland, as well as the city’s latest consumption trends.

With a history that dates back to the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Dongmen pedestrian street has gone from a slate-paved ancient street to a modern commercial center, witnessing the city’s transformation and the improvement of local living standards.

Photo shows Dongmen pedestrian street in Luohu district, Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Nov. 14, 2023. (People’s Daily Online/Chang Sha)

The pedestrian street is located near the Luohu Port, a land port between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It has evolved into a consumption paradise for Hong Kong residents who come to visit the commercial landmark on weekends or holidays to enjoy their leisure time.

According to Shenzhen’s inspection station at the port, Luohu Port registered more than 1.22 million cross-border trips during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, with the daily peak reaching as high as 210,000.

As the city continues to honor its commitment to reform and opening-up and grasps the opportunities provided by the development of the GBA, Shenzhen stands ready to inject more impetus into its fashion industries and create more signature landmarks.