(When I was a kid, Shenzhen Central Park was a crowded place due to the lack of other public landscapes around.)
(Construction sites could be seen everywhere in Shenzhen at that time.)
(Today's Shenzhen has become more livable and beautiful)
The city I want to share is Shenzhen, located on the southern coast of China. As a resident for thirteen years, I would like to interpret Shenzhen through the lens of a witness to its development. I would also like to share my perspective as a landscape architecture student and discuss how Shenzhen has changed as I grew up.
Shenzhen has encountered great opportunities for development in recent decades with policy support. Before Shenzhen was designated as a special economic zone in 1980, it had been a small fishing village with a backward economy. Then, with the return of Hong Kong to China, Shenzhen gained a lot of attention and was helped by policies such as tariff reductions and incentives for foreign investment. Like other young people, my parents came to Shenzhen around 2000 in search of a fortune, where they met, got married, and gave birth to me. However, most of the newcomers did not have enough wealth to support them in settling in Shenzhen, so as far back as I can remember, I constantly moved with my parents and transferred schools because of their job changes.
When entering elementary school, I saw Shenzhen's skyscrapers getting taller. Unlike the previous concrete buildings, more beautiful glass-walled buildings appeared in Shenzhen, as technological advances allowed buildings to use less concrete for support. At that time, Shenzhen lacked landscape, and the noise of construction and transportation would not stop every day. People called these noises "Shenzhen Voice”. On my way to school at that time, I often passed under the huge construction machines, and I could feel the unstoppable pulse of the city.
After I entered junior high school, Shenzhen had more subway lines and public landscapes. My friends and I switched from the bus to the subway, and we could reach more places, like libraries and parks. Shenzhen built fewer high-rise buildings but planted more trees and flowers. In addition, the population of Shenzhen grew again. Unlike my parents' hometown in northern China, Shenzhen had more and more young people and fewer older people. Crowded by the young who came to Shenzhen, the subway was filled with their ambition and hope.
When I graduated from junior high school, I chose to study abroad and have stayed in the United States until now. I think Shenzhen has a similar feel to New York because they are both busy cities. When I returned to Shenzhen last year, I found that it had once again changed dramatically. Now, Shenzhen has made a lot of efforts to protect the environment. For example, most buses and cabs have switched from fossil fuel-powered to electric-powered. I suppose Shenzhen is now changing from high-speed development to sustainable development, keeping pace with the general movement of the whole of China. I believe Shenzhen will continue to change, and I look forward to seeing what it will look like in the future.
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