福塔

From a humble fishing village to a towering metropolis, Futian, Shenzhen’s heart, pulses with a unique energy. The Futian district, home to the city’s government and a central business district, boasts an impressive skyline. Futian’s name, meaning “blessed fields”, hints at a past rich in agriculture. This is a stark contrast to the towering structures that now define it. Two origin stories exist for the name. One tells of a Song Dynasty inscription praising the area’s fertile lands. Another speaks of farmers from Shangsha Village, who arranged their fields in a lattice pattern, a homophone for “Futian”. Futian wasn’t always a bustling center. It started as a commune within Luohu district in 1979. The designation of Shenzhen as a Special Economic Zone in 1980 propelled Futian forward. It became a subdistrict and eventually, in 1990, a district in its own right. The rapid urbanization that followed transformed the landscape. Agricultural lands, once dominant, shrunk dramatically by 2003. This transformation is reflected in Futian’s economic power. In 2022, its GDP was a staggering 551.45 billion CNY, third highest among district-level cities in China. Within Futian lies the Shenzhen Central Business District (CBD), a 607-hectare hub of activity. Here, you’ll find prominent structures like the Shenzhen City Hall, Shenzhen Library, and the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. Just north of the CBD, Lianhuashan Park provides a welcome respite from the urban hustle. Futian is also home to giants of finance and technology. Ping An Finance Group and China Merchants Bank have their headquarters here. So too does retail giant Walmart China, situated in the SZITIC Square. Even OnePlus, the global tech company, calls Futian home, with its headquarters in the Tairan Building in Chegongmiao.