THERE’S nowhere else on Earth quite like Shenzhen, a fledgling megacity of millions where the only constant is change. Enterprising, youthful, and unburdened by the weight of history, it’s the place to be if you want to catch a glimpse of what a Chinese future might have in store.

Instant city

The gleaming manifestation of China’s economic miracle, Shenzhen has erupted from the marshy Pearl River Delta in less time than it took London’s St Paul’s Cathedral to be built. The relentless whirr of cranes and clanging of girders is Shenzhen’s soundtrack as you wander its pulsing urban core — you can literally hear the city growing. An architect’s playground, Shenzhen is blessed with contemporary buildings in every shape, size and style. Not to mention more skyscrapers constructed year-on-year than most other countries, earning it the epithet “instant city.”

Restless energy

Shenzhen was built on the backs of millions of factory workers drawn to its golden gates from across China since the 1980s. Fast forward a few decades and the city has come of age, attracting high-flying tech graduates and global corporations. Shenzhen is a trailblazer in fields like high technology, logistics and financial services, but it’s not all work, work, work. This free-spirited, forward-looking metropolis has thriving arts, nightlife and music scenes, multicultural dining and oodles of shopping. And when you step away from the skyscrapers and malls you’ll discover the fascinating “urban villages” — fast-disappearing migrant worker communities that were once villages before the city swallowed them up.

High-tech future

Once known as the world’s factory, these days “Made in China” has become “Created in China,” or more specifically, Shenzhen. Since becoming China’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 1980, Shenzhen has been like a giant Petri dish for road-testing new policies and ideas. Many of China’s most innovative companies call Shenzhen home. Companies like Tencent, of WeChat fame — a social media app with over 1 billion users worldwide — and Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment manufacturer and second largest smartphone company. Shenzhen is also the first city in the world to have an all-electric public bus and taxi fleet, courtesy of the city’s answer to Tesla —automaker BYD. BYD stands for Build Your Dreams, which could almost be Shenzhen’s own motto.

Innovative and forward-looking, Shenzhen is a fledgling megacity where the only constant is change.