Shenzhen has always been a pioneering city for the People’s Republic of China. In May 1980, then-paramount leader of the PRC, Deng Xiaoping elevated it into a “special economic zone”, a first in market capitalism in a country where GDP per capita hovered around $175, and which was only a few years removed from Maoist economics. Shenzhen would become known as the emerging point of the “opening and reform” period of Chinese history that would slowly build towards China becoming the second largest economy in the world. The city has since grown into a tech hub, synonymous of smart hardware and technological innovation ... (full story)