KNOWN worldwide as the No. 1 electronics market in China, Huaqiangbei in Futian District has grown over the past 40 years from a street of small electronics processing and trade outlets into an Aladdin’s cave of components, gadgets and fashion and a maker’s paradise.

As early as 1979, electronics processing businesses from other mainland cities and Hong Kong had aggregated in Shenzhen, and Huaqiangbei was only a street inside the Shangbu Industrial Zone. After Deng Xiaoping visited Huaqiangbei in 1984, the Shenzhen Electronics Group was founded to integrate small companies. In 1988, the group was renamed SEG Electronics Group and a market for selling domestic and overseas components was set up on the first floor of the company’s building. Shangbu Industrial Zone was then gradually transformed into China’s largest electronics trading market.

After five expansions from 1988 to 2008, the Huaqiangbei business area has become China’s largest electronics distribution center with a full range of products, gaining the title of “the No. 1 electronics street in China.” In 2017, the messy roads and outlets in the area were tidied up, providing a clean and convenient environment for traders, makers and shoppers.(Cao Zhen)