The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China’s Instant City

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Juan Du (2016). Intervention into Hong Kong’s Urban Informality, Special Issue on Modernology Research in China, Urban Flux, 51 (5), 60-65.

Until I read Juan Du's book I knew what the average person knows about Shenzhen. A city emerged from nothing thanks to its designation as the first Special Economic Zone of China. Juan Du's book busts the myth. She does it by digging into Shenzhen's history, giving voice to its habitants, and providing tons of maps, statistics and data. It's only when we learn about these facts that we can fully understand how Shenzhen came into being the city that is today. Basically, Juan Du's work debunks the official narrative that claims the emergence of Shenzhen is the consequence of direct top-down planning, thus it's a replicable model. The consequences of this are huge. For instance, there are hundreds of SEZs in China and thousands all over the world and none of them has come to be as successful as Shenzhen. Juan Du’s book will help you understand why. Also, at this moment China is building what it claims to be the new Shenzhen just 100 km away from Beijing, in the area of Xiong'an. After reading Juan Du's book I very much believe the Xiong'an area won't live up to its expectations. The uniqueness of Shenzhen is evident in that the Chinese government has built hundreds of new towns using the Shenzhen model, but none has come close to replicating the city’s level of economic success. At fifty seven, Jiang was unusually old for an incomer to the city; this was a place where the average age was under 25. He found a job, however, and settled in to his new life. A budding lyricist, in December of the same year he was moved to write a song about the city which had become its home. It was called “The Story of Spring”: At the time of researching and writing my book, I found that the most unique aspects of Shenzhen are often contrary to the current model of industrial zone development, such as the role of the local indigenous population, the collective economic power of SMEs, as well as the importance of affordable housing for migrants. Juan Du has practised extensively in the US, Europe, as well as China, and founded her Hong Kong-based office IDU_architecture in 2006, with projects ranging from the extent of built forms to the social and ecological processes of the city. Her works have been exhibited internationally including multiple presentations at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the Shenzhen Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\ Architecture. Juan was the Chief Curator of ‘Quotidian Architectures’, Hong Kong’s participation in the 2010 Venice Biennale of Architecture; Curator of the ‘Housing an Affordable City’ exhibition at the 2011 Shenzhen Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale, and Curator of the 2020 ‘Rethinking Shenzhen’ exhibition at the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning.Juan Du (2015). From Village to City: The Informal History of Shenzhen. In Re-living the City, Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture, Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (pp. 96-97). Juan Du (2009). Shenzhen Central Huanggang Village Redevelopment Research and Proposal, Urban China (Guest ed. Neville Mars), 35, 52-53. In more recent years, Shenzhen has recognised the importance of these neighbourhoods as providers of affordable housing to the city’s working population, and the current urban planning policy is indicating a different approach – one of rehabilitation rather than total redevelopment. Over the next decade, while the socio-economic characteristics will continue to change and evolve, I believe most of the urban villages in Shenzhen will remain. Juan Du (2008), City Recognition, In Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia (Ed.), Out There: Architecture Beyond Building Catalo, Volume 4 (p. 169). Aaron Betsky, Venice: Marsilio Editori s.p.a. Baily, George (2020-03-14). "The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China's Instant City". Asian Affairs. 51 (2): 436–442. doi: 10.1080/03068374.2020.1747878. ISSN 0306-8374. S2CID 219083556.

She does, however, not give enough credit to Deng Xiaoping. Sure, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone is the product of its people and its historical and cultural context. But without Deng, it could well have been stopped. McDonogh, Gary W. (2021). "The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China's Instant City. Juan Du, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2020, 384 pp". City & Society. 33 (1). doi: 10.1111/ciso.12370. S2CID 233924593. Juan Du (2020). Shenzhen’s Urban Villages: A Micro-Political Tale from China’s Mega-City. In Rainer Hehl, Patricia Ventura and Sascha Delz (Eds.), Housing the Co-op: A Micropolitical Manifesto. Berlin: Ruby Press. It’s a study of a city planned to foster innovation, business and co-operation, as well as a new home for millions of migrant workers and their families from across the country.

Over the next 14 years, I worked with various communities in both cities. The initial fascination of Shenzhen’s urban villages gradually developed into a more comprehensive understanding of the overall city and the surrounding region. Juan Du (2018). Project Home Improvement: Movable Upgrades and Community Engagement in Hong Kong’s Subdivided Units. Domus China, 90-99. PDF / EPUB File Name: The_Shenzhen_Experiment_-_Juan_Du.pdf, The_Shenzhen_Experiment_-_Juan_Du.epub The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China's Instant City". China City Planning Review. 29 (2): 86–87. 2020. – Translated and edited by Li Caige and Liu Jinxin, while Liu Jiayan and Liang Sisi are the proofreaders.

Juan Du (2013). City Metamorphosis: Shenzhen Caiwuwei Research. In Ou Ning (Ed.), South of the Southern: Space, Geography, History & the Biennale (pp. 162-165). Beijing: China Youth Press.

Juan Du (2016), ‘From Design with Nature to Design with Carbon? – A Brief History of the Low Carbon City (LCC),’ Urban Environment Design, 101 (6): 228-235. An award-winning Hong Kong–based architect with decades of experience designing buildings and planning cities in the People’s Republic of China takes us to the Pearl River delta and into the heart of China’s iconic Special Economic Zone, Shenzhen. Nathan, Andrew J. (May–June 2020). "The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China's Instant City". Foreign Affairs . Retrieved 2022-07-29. Juan Du, ‘From Design with Nature to Design with Carbon? – A Brief History of the Low Carbon City (LCC),’ Urban Environment Design, 101 (2016): 228-235.

As a result of Shenzhen's extraordinary economic success, the city was viewed as a land of opportunity. There was mass rural migration to the SEZ, and Shenzhen experienced immense population growth. By 2000, 20 million people lived in the Shenzhen SEZ. Despite Urban Villages having a negative stereotype (through 2016) because they didn't fit into the image of a well-planned city, the 300 urban villages - aka, peasant houses and villages in the city (6-7 floor "towers" & "nail houses") supplied half of the residential floor area, and provided affordable housing to its growing population. Additionally, within these communities, township and village enterprises (TVE) sprouted and became the industrial engine of Shenzhen's economy during the SEZ's first decade. Juan Du (2008). City Recognition. In Culture Fabricate: Hong Kong in Venice, Hong Kong Arts Development Council and the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (p. 74). N.p.: n.p.Juan Du (2017). Documenting Urban Villages (pp. 182-185); Massive Change: Centuries of Shenzhen’s Transformation (pp. 186-191); Co-Design: Long-Term Community Engagement Through Small-Scale Home Improvements (pp. 228-229). In Cities Grow in Difference (2017 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture), Urbanism + Architecture Chapter. Juan Du (2010). Urban Myth of a New Chinese City, Journal of Architectural Education, 63 (2), 65-66.