'Shenzhen historical place names map database' mini-program launched

Recently, the "Shenzhen historical place names map database" mini-program, organized and completed by the Shenzhen  Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, was officially launched, incorporating over 3,000 ancient place names buried in historical archives. This is Shenzhen's first authoritative, comprehensive digital repository of historical place names with precise location-based search capabilities.

The Dawan Ancestral Residence, one of the largest and most completely preserved Hakka-style square compounds in China, possesses high historical and artistic value. Photo from "坪山发布"

By simply searching for the "Shenzhen historical place names map database" mini-program online, the public can trace the millennia-long history beneath their feet with one click, establishing a new digital window for the preservation and revitalization of Shenzhen's historical and cultural heritage. 

The official launch of the database will facilitate the inclusion of relevant place name resources into the "UIS Shenzhen City Index" under its civilization dimension, achieving a two-way empowerment of place name cultural preservation and urban quality enhancement.

Shenzhen boasts a 7,000-year history of human activity, nearly 1,700 years of prefecture and county history, and over 600 years of coastal defense history. Historical place names hidden in local chronicles and ancient maps are cultural codes engraved upon the land.

Amidst advancing urban renewal, a batch of traditional place names carrying memories of folk customs, coastal defense, and clans urgently await preservation and inheritance. Meanwhile, the naming of newly developed areas and roads in the city places higher demands on the utilization of local cultural resources. Against the backdrop of dual challenges in place name cultural inheritance and planning, the "Shenzhen historical place names map database" project was launched.

An ancient map screened by a professional research team of the mini-program. File photo

A professional research team delved deep into and screened over 70 types of historical local chronicles and documents, more than 30 sets and nearly 500 ancient maps, while simultaneously collecting first-hand folk historical materials such as Shenzhen-Hong Kong genealogies, land deeds, and private contracts. Ultimately, 1,500 groups totaling over 3,000 historical place names were archived. This includes different names, evolution, literature sources, and ancient and modern locations of historically recorded place names across Shenzhen, thereby establishing a comprehensive and systematic database of Shenzhen's historical place names.

The database organizes data along a dual framework of "historical periods + place name categories:" the temporal dimension is divided into five stages — Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and earlier, early Qing Dynasty (1616-1840), late Qing Dynasty (1840-1912), Republican period (1912-1949), and modern times; the categorical dimension distinguishes 8 major types including villages, market towns, mountains, rivers, and military camps, clearly defining the attributes of various place names.

On the technical front, relying on the "Tianditu" Geographic Information System and through AI-powered positioning overlaid with manual calibration point by point, over 90% of the place names have been assigned precise spatial coordinates, enabling visual comparison between ancient and modern place names and systematically reconstructing the evolution of Shenzhen's geographical landscape through the ages.

With this data foundation, over 3,000 ancient place names buried in books have stepped out of the archives to become accessible, usable, and inheritable urban cultural assets, filling the gap in the digital preservation of Shenzhen's historical place names.