I have been flying into Hong Kong for over 25 years and it has always amazed me how the mainland landscape has evolved from rice fields to cities and factories in that brief period.
This time I was lucky enough to be invited to address a Forum associated with the Logistics Fair. During my brief stay these have been the impressions I gained - I was last in China in the ealry 1990s and in Beijing - Shenzhen is a very different place in time a space to the North of the country.
The first impression is a determined and rugged city with trucks and buses everywhere, and the word "logistics" written on them. Also on buildings and billboards. In English as well as Chinese. Buzzing around them are every brand of car - with an emphasis on Japanese and German names. This place reeks of "getting on with it".
The second impression is one of the people being a mixture of local Cantonese and every other region of China as well. They have all come to work and live in this region as the hub of industry and business. They are all busy, or trying to be busy - the GFC has whacked them pretty hard.
There are Malls and shops with serious consumers wearing designer clothes, yet the streets also have the push carts and the bicycles. There are fast food places, traditional eateries and up market restaurants.
The Chinese love of theatre and show was present at the Opening Ceremony today. The Vice Mayor lined up all the several dozen foreign friends and we were paraded for TV and hundreds of cameras in the main Exhibition Hall. Then the fireworks (literally) as we were showered with gold leaf confetti fired from fake cannons surrounding the stage.
The Forum continues for two more days and then it starts getting ready for 2010 - all over again.
One final impression for the day - English is not spoken widely in Shenzhen, and although everyone is willing and courteous, a translation is needed for the simplest things. My interenet connection for example. I was told my password and when it didn't work for 24 hours I finally figured out that the hotel had actually given me the right password (three times), but they had forgotten to authorise the access at the data exchange. We got it right in the end.