Journey back to a time before skyscrapers. It is a time before bustling streets. We are standing now at Golden Hill.
Golden Hill stands tall. It watches over a landscape that has transformed. Imagine this area centuries ago. It was a tranquil scene of paddy fields. Small villages dotted the landscape. The Shenzhen River snaked its way to the bay.
The name “Huanggang”, once meaning yellow, shifted. It became the Emperor’s Place Village. The river flowed into Shenzhen Bay. Bao Tai Road was a public road. It stretched from Bao’an to Taiping. It followed the coast. The road kept safely away from floods.
The old maps show the area’s polder dikes. They show dirt roads. The Tourist Guide to Hong Kong suggested day trips. One could take a boat to Chiwan. One could travel to Black Rock. You could cross the Shenzhen River across paddy fields.
The landscape changed. The paddy fields made way for the city. New villages sprung up. The Mangrove Ecological Park was planned. It was a stretch of original land. Yellow Hill and the Shenzhen River remained. They became the main landmarks.
Polders disappeared under development. Shennan Road replaced Bao Tai Road. Futian Villages grew. Second-generation buildings rose. Handshake tenements appeared. Futian transformed from SEZ to CBD in the 1990s. The buses trundled from Shenzhen University to downtown Shenzhen. Construction sites filled the views.
Today Golden Hill offers a serene escape. It is an escape from the modern city. But remember the history. Remember the quiet villages. The tranquil paddy fields. The changing names. The evolving roads. The changing landscape. Let’s appreciate the blend of past and present. Let’s honor the story of Golden Hill.