The “Great Tides Surge Along the Pearl River: 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up in Guangdong” exhibition is opening to the public at the Shenzhen Reform and Opening Up Exhibition Hall.

The exhibition focuses on Guangdong’s development over the past 40 years since the reform and opening up. The famous slogan “Time Is Money, Efficiency Is Life” first appeared in the 1980s in Shekou Industrial Zone, China’s first export processing zone.

Just inside the entrance to the exhibition, an LED display screening a short film about Shenzhen’s early years is currently the largest LED screen with the highest resolution and the most advanced form of multimedia art projection in China.

The exhibition is divided into three parts. Thousands of objects related to the reform and opening up, including photos, historical documents, as well as audio and visual items, are on display at the exhibition. The first part tells how Guangdong grasped the historical opportunity to establish the special administrative region and contains a reproduction of Guangdong enterprises’ production factories from the 1980s. The second part introduces the scientific development of Guangdong’s reform and opening up featuring pagers, bill sorters and other objects from the time. Visitors can see iconic items such as China’s first gravure printing machine from the 1990s and hair dryer accessories produced by the first manufacturing enterprise in Shenzhen after 1978. High-tech items are being exhibited at the last part of the exhibition, such as smart trash cans, electric fans, and washing machines.

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., closed Mondays

Venue: Shenzhen Reform and Opening Up Exhibition Hall, 184 Fuzhong Road, Futian District (福田区福中路184号深圳改革开放展览馆)

Metro: Line 3 and 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit A

(SD News)