TWO years ago, Shenzhen Daily took several photos of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, where workers were crowding into plots of land that were newly for sale. Today, walking in the area that hopes to become a Chinese version of Manhattan, the buildings and facilities that are nearly finished reveal its potential as a cross-border financial center.

    The phase one complex of the free trade city is open to the public; commercial center complexes A and D will be put into use by the end of the year; the inner river corridor is finished; main roads have been built and the comprehensive transportation junction is under construction; the newly completed creative cultural industrial park will house more than 100 enterprises by the end of the year; and the international wine trade center will be in operation later this year.

    Buildings and businesses are springing up on the artificial peninsula and the heavily invested and highly focused trade zone will surely contribute to the city’s development.(Tan Yifan)