Atrueimmigranttown,Shenzhenissoinclusivethateveryonestrivesforacommongoalandeasilyreachesconsensus.
Twenty-eightyearsagowhenIfirstarrivedinShenzhen,onlyasinglebuslinereachedtheShekouIndustrialZonefromtheLuohuRailwayStation,andasingletriptooktwohours.Inthosedays,onlysmallprivatestoressoldelectricappliancesliketelevisionsandrefrigeratorsandofferednowarrantiesorrepairservice.Evenso,manyyoungpeoplelikemyselfchosetostaybecausethecitywastotallydifferentfromChina鈥檚inlandcities.Despiteitsrusticqualities,itgaveushope鈥攈opetochangeourlives.
Intheearly1980swhentheShenzhenSpecialEconomicZonewasfirstbuilt,manufacturingenterprisesfromHongKongandTaiwandominatedtheplace.Inthe1990s,consideringitslimitedterritory,Shenzheneyedupgradingitsindustrytohigh-techrealmsthatrequiresmallerspaces,emitlesspollutionandhavegreateraddedvalue.Butthecitylackedcolleges,institutesandatalentpool.SothemunicipalgovernmentofShenzheninvitedsomeinlanduniversitiestoestablishresearchinstitutionsinthecity.Attheendof1996,thefirstlocalacademy鈥擱esearchInstituteofTsinghuaUniversityinShenzhen鈥攚aslaunchedjointlybytheShenzhenmunicipalgovernmentandTsinghuaUniversity.Theformerinvested80millionyuanintheconstructionoftheinstitute,abigexpenditureforagovernmentwhosetotalannualrevenuewasonly3.7billionyuanatthattime.
ThankstothesoundacademicandindustrialenvironmentofShenzhenandGuangdongProvince,thisnewtypeofresearchanddevelopmentinstitutesenjoyedrapidgrowth.TsinghuaUniversityhastakenadvantageofitsalumniresourcesandglobalreachtohelpitsgraduateswinsupportfromtheShenzhenmunicipalgovernment鈥檚鈥淧hoenixProgram鈥漚ndGuangdongProvince鈥檚鈥淧earlRiverPlan鈥漚ndbuiltaplatformtohelpoverseasgraduatesreturntostartbusiness.Inrecentyears,theinstitutehasproducedfiveteamsthathavewongrantsunderthe鈥淧hoenixProgram鈥漚ndthreeteamsforprojectsunderthe鈥淧earlRiverPlan,鈥漬otonlyenhancingitsresearchlevelbutalsoaccumulatingindustrialstrengthforthecityandtheprovince.Thecityhopesalloftheseteamswillbecomehigh-techgiantsinthefuture.
Today,morethan60universitiesfromaroundChinaandtheworldhavesetupresearchinstitutionsinShenzhen.Overthepasttwodecades,thelocalgovernmentlaunchedaseriesofplanstoattracthigh-caliberprofessionalsbyprovidingsubsidiestonewgraduates.Shenzhenisnowhometomorethan20millionresidents,tentimesmorethanthepopulationinthe1990s.Andtheaverageageofitspopulationisonly30yearsold.Theinfluxofsomanyyoungpeoplehasinjectedconsiderablevigorandcreativityintothecity.Atrueimmigranttown,Shenzhenissoinclusivethateveryonestrivesforacommongoalandeasilyreachesconsensus.
Adheringtoitsoriginalaspirationtobecomeahigh-techcity,Shenzhenhasevolvedintoanadvancedtechnologyhub.Radiatingfromthehigh-techindustrialparkinitsNanshanDistrict,ShenzhenHigh-techIndustrialZonenowhousesover60institutesandheadquartersofmanyelitehightechenterpriseslikeTencentandDJI.Thousandsofsuchcompaniesoperateintheareacoveringonlyseveralsquarekilometersbutcreateatotalindustrialoutputworththousandsofbillionsyuan.Thehigh-techindustrialparkinNanshanDistrictalonehosts150listedcompanies,over80percentofwhicharehigh-techfirms.
Overthepast20years,Shenzhenhasbecomethetopdestinationforinnovativestartups.Ithasbecomethecityfordreamersduetoitssoundmarketenvironment,advancedmodelofgovernance,preferentialindustrialpolicies,perfectindustrialsupportandchains,abundantprivateinvestmentcapitalandspecialcultureofanimmigrantcity.ThesefactorshavealsofueledShenzhen鈥檚miraculousgrowthinthepastfewdecades.ShiLei,assistantpresidentoftheResearchInstituteofTsinghuaUniversityinShenzhen,inhisoffice.ThankstothesoundacademicandindustrialenvironmentofShenzhenandGuangdongProvince,theinstituteenjoysrapidgrowth.TheauthorisassistantpresidentoftheResearchInstituteofTsinghuaUniversityinShenzhenanddirectoroftheinstitute鈥檚GeneralOffice.