Doesn’t the name Wu Chau sound like a whisper from the past? Wu Chau. It is actually the name of two islands of Hong Kong. But Wu Chau is also an old transliteration of the Chinese city of Wuzhou.
Now let’s delve into the story of Shenzhen. Shenzhen famously grew from a small fishing village to a metropolis of 13 million. The early years of Shenzhen were marked by its establishment as China’s first Special Economic Zone. This was back in 1987.
Imagine a city effectively ring-fenced off from the rest of mainland China. A substantial wall manned by checkpoints surrounded a five-kilometer radius around the SEZ. This methodology was to protect the rest of the Motherland from capitalistic notions should the Shenzhen experiment not work.
Getting a special visa to visit Shenzhen from Hong Kong wasn’t easy back then. The airport, also named Hong Qiao, was outside the perimeter. You couldn’t fly into Shenzhen airport without a valid Chinese Visa. Applications from foreign nationals could take over a month.
Hong Kong drove Shenzhen’s early days. It was a hot bed of British capitalism. Everyone got rich from the benefit of the proximity of nearby Chinese factories with cheap labor. Made in Hong Kong became Made in China pretty rapidly in the early 1980s. Toy manufacturers and early electronic products shifted production.
Trips to Shenzhen were an exciting diversion away from Hong Kong. Travel to Shenzhen was an adventure akin to a Trans-Siberian trip.
There were two ways to get to Shenzhen. You could travel overland to the crossing at Lo Wu. It was a fairly standard and unexciting trip on the MTR then across immigration into a dark Chinese immigration hall. Or you could take the ferry to Shekou.
Coming out into Lo Wu, one entered a different world. Mainland China. It was dirty and busy even. Chaotic even, as hustlers began hustling for Hong Kong dollars. It was illegal to possess RMB in those days. As a foreigner, one had to use Foreign Exchange Certificates or FEC.
Shenzhen in those days pretty much revolved around Lo Wu. Outer lying districts and roads were still developing. The main Heping Avenue has now developed into Shenzhen’s main thoroughfare with huge steel and glass cathedrals to Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Prada dotting the avenue.
For a young adventure seeking expat, Shekou was also the better option. At the time, it had China’s largest expat population. Large rowdy Texan, Scottish and Danish oil riggers would pack the few bars and order beer after beer.
Shenzhen is a testament to China’s economic transformation. From its humble beginnings as a fishing village to its current status as a bustling metropolis. Shenzhen embodies the spirit of innovation and progress. Remember Wu Chau within this vibrant landscape.