SHENZHEN

In 1979, the Chinese city of Shenzhen was a small fishing village with a population of 30,000. That's about the size of the town where I grew up, Norwood, Ohio. It is located on the South China Sea not far from Hong Kong which was a British colony at that time. The average temperatures in Shenzhen are about the same as Miami, Florida.

As its first experiment in capitalism, the Chinese government named Shenzhen a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The object of the SEZ was to encourage foreign investors to establish businesses or to joint venture with Chinese companies to establish businesses. The location of Shenzhen on the sea, its population which would work for very low wages, and its proximity to Hong Kong were huge assets. Lets just say that this venture was a huge success.

Today, Shenzhen is the fastest growing city on Earth. It has a population of more than 9 million. It is southern China's financial capital with a large stock exchange. Shenzhen is the second busiest port in China behind Shanghai. It now has the largest manufacturing base of any city in the world. Downtown Shenzhen has one high rise after the other. There are more than a dozen buildings exceeding 1000 feet tall. The hills surrounding Shenzhen are being leveled so that the city can expand even more. Some day it may grow into a metropolis with Hong Kong.

You may not have heard of Shenzhen but your children will study it and might include it in a short list of the world's great cities.
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