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Jessica Bridger
For the 2015 Global Schindler Award site in Shenzhen in Chinas Pearl River Delta, we
have gathered some impressions from a trip to the city and surrounding region.
Traveling via road, rail and sea journalist and urbanist Jessica Bridger assembled this
72-hour tour to give a general idea of the rapidly changing and complex context for the
competition.
A good way to begin a trip to Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta is to start in Hong Kong, a
Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China and historic world city. Centuries of British rule
over Hong Kong left their mark, from Western-style planning and architecture to the
prevalence of fish and chip shops, interwoven with a distinctly Chinese character. Shenzhen
can be reached by road, by boat, or by the speedy metro system. Efficient border-crossing
points make travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong simple, and metro trains going
between Hong Kong Central station and Shenzhen are crowded with commuters and visitors
on the hour-long trip.
Shenzhen is a city of over 10 million; population estimates vary widely due to different
methods of counting both formal and informal residents. The first major developments in
Shenzhen occurred in the early 1980s, after part of the area was declared a Special
Economic Zone (SEZ) to help open Chinas economy to foreign investment. The rapid pace of
development transformed the area quickly, swallowing villages and creating a sprawling
metropolis. It is a city of migrants; people flocked to Shenzhen for jobs as the city grew into a
productive hinterland for Hong Kong. Today the city is still rapidly changing, though growing
pressure on developable land has limited the sprawl and necessitated land-reclamation
projects. The economic base of the city is also changing as manufacturing and logistics are
joined by the services sector; in response, and in anticipation of future change, the city fabric
is shifting as well.
Traveling through Shenzhen via metro, taxi, or bus is a high-speed adventure, though travel
on foot at street level is often difficult. The city has much to offer, from services like spas and
salons, popular with touristic visitors from Hong Kong, to a large number and variety of
shopping malls and global flagship stores. Getting out of Shenzhen and traveling around the
Pearl River Delta will give you an idea of the scale of urbanization and the variety of historical
and morphological conditions.
Global Schindler Award
Those wishing to take public transit in Shenzhen have two primary options: the extensive bus
network or the expanding metro system, which currently has 177 kilometers of track over five
lines, with eight planned for 2016 and more intended. The metro uses a variable pricing
system based on usage and distance. Opened in 2004, the wide metro cars and slick stations
have a modern feeling, reminiscent of other cities with new metro lines and projects: there is
a feeling of an anonymous vision of a metropolitan future. Access by escalator, elevator, and
stairs is generous, with clear signage throughout. Two lines link directly with Hong Kongs
metro system at Lok Ma Chau and Luohu, carrying many thousands of passengers to and
from two border crossings daily.
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people, cases of soda, scrap metal, and more. Pedestrians are not to be outdone, as pullcarts, luggage rollers, and anything with wheels is pressed into service for the grand here to
there of the city. The buses that crisscross the city so extensively are a good way to watch
this wheeled drama unfold as a participant and spectator. For 2.5 Yuan, a cross-town ride is
yours. Along the road, with long blocks aligned to the street, cranes are ever-present; many
are building luxury and middle-segment condo towers to feed Chinas booming real estate
market. While many appear empty, economic data implies that buyers should be abundant.
and you can witness the road traffic that was so recently an on-the-ground experience: buses
pass buses at high speed until everything smoothly halts at traffic lights. As in any city, there
is a pulse provided by movement, lit by headlamps and gigantic LED and neon signs. From
up here, the edge of the city is visible along the channelized Sham Chun River, with the
comparatively undeveloped Northern Territories of Hong Kong on the other side.
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protect a massive station hall, where long lines of passengers wait to buy tickets and pass
security inspections, as others relax and wait. Outside the station, under the cantilevered roof,
police presence is a conspicuous assurance of safety, and there is an unmistakable pride in
the station.
Tuesday, 2 p.m. SQ
The SQ area is immediately adjacent to the border with Hong Kong. The area is defined by
the presence of many warehouses, which hint at the concentration of logistics and industry in
the area. This focus is shifting, however, as the city changes and the SEZ borders extend. A
highway and rail lines bisect SQ and this creates a separation and difference in morphology.
North of the highway, the industrial fabric is still largely intact. To the south, construction sites
abound, along with other evidence of more recent development. On the border of the site, a
large recycling and scrap depot serves the city. A wholesale food market, soon to be
relocated and demolished, stands on the edge of SQ. Showrooms, automobile lots, and retail
stores are abundant in the south. Part of a small mountain range traverses SQ, and its ridges
are studded with the high voltage electricity lines that carry power through the city. The Buji
river, an important waterway, is another natural border of the site, though it is heavily polluted
today.
immediately along the Shizi Ocean, a tidal strait that runs from the confluence of the Dong
and Pearl Rivers to the South China Sea. A good stop is in the satellite city of Humen, in the
heart of Dongguans textile industry. It is home to one of Chinas most important domestic
fashion fairs, responsible in part for the citys nickname Chinese Famous Lady Fashion
Town. Humen is filled with factories, warehouses, and showrooms, and the streets bustle
with a seemingly young set, decked out in the wares they sew or sell.
Farther into Dongguan, the structure of the old city is evident at least where large-scale
urbanization has not swallowed the past. The narrow streets of the old city, with alleyways
that dead-end in residential courtyards, show signs of neglect most of the old city seems to
be decaying at the feet of newer, larger, more modern buildings. A pet market with parrots,
goldfish, and puppies is lively with color, but the heart of the city is elsewhere, in the newly
developed towers of the city center.
Wednesday, 9 a.m. Guangzhou streets
Guangzhou, also known throughout history as Canton, is the original central trading city of the
Pearl River Delta. The city is thick with history, a counterpoint to Shenzhens recent rapid
urbanization and resulting morphology. Yet at the same time, the city is unmistakably
cosmopolitan, with dense shopping centers and even some starchitecture in the form of Zaha
Hadids opera house. The streets of Guangzhou are as busy as those of New York City, as
commuters, shoppers, tourists, and all manner of city dwellers traverse tangles of old and
new roads. Highway overpasses overlay many major ground-level thoroughfares, with
pedestrian fly-overs to aid crossing. In Peoples Park, a kiosk sells incense to burn in front of
an old temple, and people practice Tai Chi with a pop music soundtrack, as a crowd gathers
to watch an open-air concert.
Wednesday, 1 p.m. Cantonese food and walking the Pearl River to Shamian Island
The streets of Guangzhou traverse an ever-changing city fabric. Walking along the Pearl
River and exploring the streets around this famous waterway, youll find everything from quiet
residential areas with hardscape public spaces to outposts of the Japanese clothing store
Uniqlo. Old-style apartment buildings, with washing strung out on barred-in balconies, abut
newer, more modern towers. At Bingsheng Seafood Restaurant, local Cantonese food is on
offer, with the ubiquitous tanks of live fish soon to be eaten. After lunch, as you progress
further along the river, Shamian Island comes into view. The island is part of the colonial
heritage of the city, and the 18th and 19th century buildings stand on wide, tree-lined streets.
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Jessica Bridger travelled with the ETH Zurich and Schindler Group to Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta in
March 2014. She has been part of the project team for the Global Schindler Award.
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