Shenzhen is situated along the South China Sea. Located on the east side of the Pearl River estuary, Shenzhen is 160 kilometers from Guangzhou and 35 kilometers from Kowloon, Hong Kong. Because of its sub-tropical, marine climate, Shenzhen has blooming flowers and green grass all year long.

Shenzhen is one of China's most important tourist cities, widely known as the "capital of China's theme parks and tourist innovations". With a total area of 1,953 square kilometers and a permanent population of almost 9 million, Shenzhen is a city of immigrants with diverse cultures.

Shenzhen is China's first Special Economic Zone. It was the "window" and "experimental field" for China's policy of reform and opening up, first established at the proposal of Deng Xiaoping. Shenzhen became an administrative city in 1979, a special economic zone in 1980, a sub-provincial city in 1981, and a city specifically designated in the state plan in 1988. During the past three decades, Shenzhen has been transformed from a small border town into a modern dynamic city noted for its economic prosperity, comprehensive infrastructure, sound legal system, beautiful environment and appropriate scale. As a miracle in the history of industrialization, urbanization and modernization, Shenzhen epitomizes China's achievements in reform and opening during the past three decades.

Shenzhen now has the world's fourth largest container port and the fourth largest airport in the Chinese mainland. The city is the fourth most important tourist destination in the Chinese mainland, and an important center of high-technology, logistics, and finance in Asia. Shenzhen has the fastest economic growth in China, and ranks third in the Chinese mainland in terms of comprehensive strength, following Shanghai and Beijing. The metropolitan area of the Pearl River Delta, which includes Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou and other cities, is the region in China with the most developed economy, the most thriving market, and the highest level of urbanization and internationalization.

According to Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta, approved by the State Council, Shenzhen's strategic position in China's reform and development during the next few years will be as an experimental field for comprehensive reforms, a central city of the national economy, a national innovative city, an international city, and a model city for socialism with Chinese characteristics.

For more information, please refer to the official website of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government:

http://www.sz.gov.cn