Chen Siqi

vankochensq@163.com

SHENZHEN’S rising influence on international social media platforms has been boosted by expat vloggers who are presenting the city’s technological marvels to the world.

One particular video titled “Most Developed City on the Planet? Shenzhen, China” by an Indian vlogger on his YouTube channel “Travel with AK” on Saturday has garnered much attention.

The Indian vlogger was awestruck by Shenzhen’s modernity, describing it as “an unreal city being created in a virtual world.”

The video, showcasing attractions like Lianhua Hill Park, Futian CBD, snack stalls and Gangxia North Metro Station, had garnered 8,308 likes after the total amount of over 218,800 view counts as of yesterday afternoon.

“I cannot design such a fabulous city even in the SimCity game,” the vlogger said.

Shenzhen is often associated with monikers like “city of the future,” “Asia’s Silicon Valley” and “China’s city of technology” on international social platforms, indicating its growing global impact.

On TikTok, a video-sharing social networking platform, posts with the hashtag “Shenzhen” have accumulated 198 million views, while YouTube boasted over 13,000 videos with the same hashtag, with several posts attracting more than 1 million views.

Gangxia North Metro Station, a transport hub in Futian District, which features transfers to five Metro lines, wowed British vlogger Jason Richard Lightfoot, who posted a video titled “America CAN’T Compete with China’s infrastructure!”

With its spectacular design, the Metro station has become one of the must-see destinations in Shenzhen.

“It’s [The Metro station is] like something out of a science fiction movie,” the vlogger commented.

The vlogger stopped over to take photos of the hub, whose ceiling features “Shenzhen Eye,” which also serves a functional purpose by allowing sunlight to filter into the Metro station.

“It’s like seeing the sun shine down in the church,” Lightfoot said, standing in the glaring circle created by “Shenzhen Eye.”

The video also showed the Metro’s autonomous driving and the free wireless charging offered on the train. “It is just incomparable to what we have in the West,” according to the vlogger.

The video has garnered 1.8 million views and 42,000 likes from viewers.

Huaqiangbei pedestrian street, known as one of the world’s largest electronics markets, is another hotspot for vloggers on international platforms.

An Indian vlogger posted a video titled “World’s Biggest Electronic Market in Shenzhen, China,” on his YouTube channel “PRATIK JAIN vlogs,” checking out electronic products in the market, including microchips, mobile phones from Vivo, Oppo and Huawei, power banks and DJI drones. The video, posted in late June, had attracted 1.6 million views and 20,000 likes by yesterday afternoon.

According to the vlogger, the brands found in Shenzhen’s bustling electronics market are also well-known in India. Many Chinese brands, like Huawei, BYD, ZTE and DJI, have expanded overseas, contributing to Shenzhen’s recognition as “Asia’s Silicon Valley.”

As China’s first city with a 100% urbanization rate, Shenzhen has 121 buildings over 200 meters, which is more than anywhere else in the world. But Shenzhen is not just about tall buildings. Its CBD is surrounded by green hills and clear waters, reflecting its well-designed urban planning.

Just like one netizen commented: “The vloggers are building bridges among people with various cultural backgrounds. This is essential to eliminate the huge differences between people from different nationalities and shows mutual understanding and communication.”