Living in close proximity to one another creates conflicts in almost any relationship—the same goes for the former British colony of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, its next-door neighbor. Separated only by a narrow river, the two cities have prospered in their own unique ways; Hong Kong boasts political freedom, free press and advanced education resources while Shenzhen, in just 30 years, has become the country’s fastest growing city.
The two sisters were reunited in 1997, when Hong Kong was handed back to the People’s Republic of China, and two worlds began to collide. As the number of cross-border commuters between the two cities continues to intensify, so does the tension between the Hong Kong Chinese and their mainland counterparts. Many Hong Kong citizens complain about mainlanders’ behavior not living up to their British-influenced standards. The increasing number of mainland mothers who give birth in Hong Kong to obtain residency rights for their children has also added strain on the relationship. Mainlanders, on the other hand, see the Hong Kong Chinese as arrogant, ungrateful and disloyal to their motherland.
But even though the line between “us” and “them” has been growing clearer in recent years, they share a deeper commonality than they like to admit—the 5000-year old traditional Chinese culture that is ingrained in both societies. The leaders of both cities are also pushing for deeper financial integration, linking them even closer, making them inseparable and even more dependent on each other. There are 11 control points along the Hong Kong-Mainland border but Shenzhen is the most convenient passage of them all; residents can travel between the two downtown areas within just one hour. In a nutshell, the two cities are highly intertwined and will likely become more so.
To further strengthen the collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the Chinese government is developing Qianhai, a special zone in Shenzhen which is being dubbed “South China’s Manhattan.” The area was officially approved by China’s State Council in mid-2012 and is expected to be a thriving financial district comparable to that of Wall Street or Hong Kong’s Central District. The plan is for the 15-square-kilometer area to accommodate a working population of 650,000 people, generating an annual gross domestic product of around $25 billion by 2020.
It may sound like an ambitious plan but the local government has seen financial miracles happen in their backyard before. China’s experiment with capitalism in Shenzhen in 1979 has proved successful in transforming the city from a “sleepy village” into a thriving metropolis. The government is now keen to repeat the same “miracle” for the sake of Hong Kong and Shenzhen’s mutual economic benefit. Let’s just hope that the residents in both cities can respect each other’s differences and live side by side without being constantly at each other’s throats.