Shenzhen ascendant: a report from the city outpacing the West

My childhood in 1990s Russia followed the tragic dissolution of the USSR, which plunged the nation into a decade of social crisis and economic decline. During that dark era 30 years ago, many of my fellow citizens harbored an irrational prejudice toward China. Visitors from the right bank of the Amur River were often dismissed as impoverished, wearing poor clothes and carrying tools that could hardly compete with European standards.

Back then, Hong Kong, with its illuminated skyscrapers and branches of Western banks, was one of the few Chinese cities that appeared modern. Following the end of the Cold War, Russia dreamed of an alliance with the European Union and the United States.

That Western dream collapsed in 1999 when U.S.-backed NATO forces invaded Yugoslavia. As a 12-year-old boy, I watched TV reports of Western weapons striking the Chinese embassy in Belgrade and killing innocent Serbian civilians.

Afterwards, many Russians began to realize who was truly a friend and who was a foe. Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Moscow began endorsing a new, equality-centered “multipolar world” model — a concept similar to the Chinese global vision of a “community with a shared future for mankind.”

Since then, the global landscape has changed dramatically. While the Atlantic bloc is torn apart by recession, cultural wars, and internal instability, China has become the world’s leading economy and Russia’s largest trading partner, with turnover exceeding US$200 billion. This alliance between “the bear and the panda” reached a new peak in 2025 with the implementation of mutual visa-free travel.

Seeking to uncover the secret of China’s miraculous growth, I traveled to its most rapidly rising star: Shenzhen, a pearl situated just across the bay from Hong Kong.

I must admit that I previously did not hear about Shenzhen, though its status as one of the newest megapolises on the planet offers some excuse. However, my first glimpse of its clean, straight streets, towering skyscrapers, and industrious crowds felt strangely familiar.

Archival footage of Moscow from the 1930s captures those same “vibes” of world-altering change, massive construction, and collective energy. During that era, under Joseph Stalin, Soviet Union attempted to build a socialist utopia. It pursued the vision of a entirely new city: one featuring centralized urban planning, an efficient public transport system, and a harmonious combination of parks, residential blocks, cultural sites, and workplaces. At the heart of this development was the “human of the new era.”

And that was the exact picture — corrected by centennial differences — I’ve found in Shenzhen.

Reflecting on my first trip to China nearly a decade ago, I remembered staying in a central city where the smog was so thick I could barely see the building across the street. Today, thanks to the Chinese Government’s green initiatives, the skies are a clear, cloudless blue — including the skies of Shenzhen.

While locals may not notice the gradual day-to-day progress, the transformation is breathtaking to a visitor. Despite Western media narratives regarding a “declining dragon,” Shenzhen recently surpassed New York and Dubai in a key visual marker of economic power: the number of skyscrapers. If current growth continues, Shenzhen is on track to overtake even Hong Kong in this regard by the end of the decade.

In my childhood, I read a Chinese folktale about a poor boy who caught fireflies to study by their light late into the night. While all Chinese people are known for being hardworking and studious, these traits reach their peak in Shenzhen. Since its transformation from a small fishing village in the 1980s, the city has been built by migrants from every province in the country. As a result, Shenzhen represents the very essence of the Chinese spirit. This devotion to knowledge is physically manifested in Nanshan, which is home to one of the largest bookstores ever built in the world.

In Shenzhen, it is common to see a student from an ordinary background launch a “garage startup” that evolves into the world’s leading drone manufacturer. It is common to meet self-made individuals who have mastered foreign languages to bridge international gaps in trade and media. It is equally common to see an innovator leave a high-tech research lab to visit a local temple and honor their ancestors.

From the ultramodern skyscrapers of Futian to the historic sites of Nantou Ancient City, one impression dominates: in Shenzhen, nothing is impossible. Walking through Sea World Square, where I even found a shop selling authentic Russian food, I felt a deep conviction that these young people can triumph in any existential challenge. They carry the same spirit as our predecessors in the 1930s and 40s, when China and Soviet Union stood as successful allies during the Second World War.