Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a major city in Guangdong Province, China. It forms part of the Pearl River Delta megalopolis. The city is located immediately north of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and holds sub-provincial administrative status, with powers slightly less than a province.

Shenzhen was a market town of 30,000 people on the route of the Kowloon–Canton Railway. That changed in 1979 when Shenzhen was promoted to city-status and in 1980 designated China’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Shenzhen's modern cityscape is the result of its vibrant economy made possible by rapid foreign investment since the institution of the policy of "reform and opening" in late 1979 in which SEZ established.

Climate
Although Shenzhen is situated about a degree south of the Tropic of Cancer, due to the Siberian anticyclone, it has a warm, monsoon-influenced, humid subtropical climate. Winters are mild and relatively dry, due in part to the influence of the South China Sea, and frost is very rare; it begins dry but becomes progressively more humid and overcast. However, fog is most frequent in winter and spring, with 106 days per year reporting some fog. Early spring is the cloudiest time of year, and rainfall begins to dramatically increase in April; the rainy season lasts until late September to early October. The monsoon reaches its peak intensity in the summer months, when the city also experiences very humid, and hot, but moderated, conditions; there are only 2.4 days of 35 °C (95 °F)+ temperatures. The region is prone to torrential rain as well, with 9.7 days that have 50 mm (1.97 in) or more of rain, and 2.2 days of at least 100 mm (3.94 in). The latter portion of autumn is dry. The annual precipitation averages at around 1,970 mm (78 in), some of which is delivered in typhoons that strike from the east during summer and early autumn. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 0.2 °C (32 °F) on 11 February 1957 to 38.7 °C (102 °F) on 10 July 1980.

Demographics
Shenzhen has seen its population and activity develop rapidly since the establishment of the SEZ. Shenzhen has an official population of over 10 million. About six million are registered non-local migrant workers who may return to their home town/city on the weekends and live in factory dormitories during the week. The population growth of Shenzhen proper slowed down to less than one percent per year by 2013 with growth spilling over the municipal border and forming a contiguous urban area with southern Dongguan and Huizhou Cities. However, due to the large unregistered floating migrant population living in the city, official estimates put Shenzhen's population at around 20 million inside the administrative area given at any specific moment. Shenzhen is the largest migrant city in China.

Economy
Shenzhen was the first of the Special Economic Zones to be established in China and it showed the most rapid growth, averaging at a very high growth rate of 40% per annum between 1981 and 1993, compared to the average GDP growth of 9.8% for the country as a whole. The economic growth later slowed after this early breakneck pace. From 2001 to 2005, Shenzhen's overall GDP grew by 16.3 percent yearly on average. Since 2012, economic growth has slowed to around 10% per year.

Shenzhen's economic output is ranked fourth among the 659 Chinese cities (behind Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou). In the 2017 Global Financial Centres Index, Shenzhen was ranked as having the 22nd most competitive financial center in the world.

In 2016, Shenzhen's GDP totaled $294 billion, putting it on par with a mid-sized Chinese province by terms of total GDP. Its total economic output is higher than that of Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, and Vietnam. Its PPP per-capita GDP was $47,832 (unregistered migrant population not counted) as of 2016, on par with some of the developed countries of the OECD.

Shenzhen is a major manufacturing center in China. In the financial sector, large Chinese banks such as Ping An Bank and China Merchants Bank have their headquarters in Shenzhen.

Transport
Donghai Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and Jade Cargo International are located at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. The airport is 35 kilometres (22 miles) from central Shenzhen and connects the city with many other parts of China, and serves domestic and international destinations. The airport also serves as an Asian-Pacific cargo hub for UPS Airlines. Shenzhen Donghai Airlines has its head office in the Shenzhen Airlines facility on the airport property. SF Airlines has its headquarters in the International Shipping Center.

Shenzhen Railway Station is located at the junction of Jianshe Road, Heping Road and Renmin Nan Road and provides links to different parts of China. There are frequent regional high speed trains to Guangzhou, plus long-distance trains to Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha, Jiujiang, Maoming, Shantou and other destinations. The train from Hong Kong's Hung Hom MTR station to the Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau border crossings take 43 minutes and 45 minutes respectively.

Shenzhen West Station is located at Qianhai, Nanshan.This station is used for a small number of long distance trains, such as ones to Hefei.

Shenzhen North Railway Station opened in 2011 in Longhua. The station is currently handling high-speed trains to Guangzhou South, Guangzhou North, Changsha, Wuhan, Beijing and intermediate stations on the Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong HSR.

Pingshan Railway Station is completed in 2013 to serve high-speed trains on the Xiamen–Shenzhen HSR which opened in 2013.

Futian Railway Station was completed by the end of 2015. It is completely underground, located in the centre of its namesake Futian District. The central location means it will become the focal point for most high-speed train services on the Beijing-Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong HSR route upon completion. Connection to West Kowloon Railway Station in Hong Kong is scheduled to be completed in late 2018, allowing for 15 minute cross-border train journeys.

The Shenzhen Metro system opened on 28 December 2004. The Shenzhen Metro currently has 8 lines, 199 stations, and 286 kilometres (178 mi) of lines in operation. This made the Shenzhen Metro one of the top ten longest metro systems in the world.

Sports
The planned Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center Gymnasium will be one of the venues for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Shenzhen has two local football clubs, Shenzhen F.C. and Shenzhen Renren F.C., who both play home games at the 40,000 capacity Bao'an Stadium. 

Shenzhen F.C. was one of the earliest professional football clubs in Guangdong, originally owned by memberships, later turned to shareholding.

The team won Chinese Super League title in 2004 season despite severe financial problems leaving players unpaid for seven months. The team currently plays in China League One, the second tier of Chinese football competition system.

Shenzhen Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium that hosts many events. The stadium is located in Futian District and has a capacity of 32,500. It was built in June 1993, at a cost of 141 million RMB.

Shenzhen Dayun Arena is a multipurpose arena. It was completed in 2011 for the 2011 Summer Universiade. It is used for the basketball, ice hockey and gymnastics events. The Arena is the home of the Kunlun Red Star WIH of the CWHL.

Shenzhen is also a popular destination for skateboarders from all over the world, due to the architecture of the city and its lax skate laws.

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