22°29′10″N113°54′40″E / 22.486°N 113.911°E /22.486; 113.911
| Shekou | |||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 蛇口 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Snake's Mouth | ||||||||||||
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Shekou (Chinese:蛇口;pinyin:Shékǒu) is an area at the southern tip ofNanshan District,Shenzhen,Guangdong Province,China. It facesYuen Long,Hong Kong across theShenzhen Bay. It has been designated as aFree Trade Zone by the government, alongsideQianhai,Hengqin andNansha New Area.[1]
The area was formerly a customs station ofBao'an County. On 31 January 1979, it became officially known as the Shekou Industrial Zone, developed solely byChina Merchants Group ofHong Kong underYuan Geng's leadership, earlier than the formation of theShenzhen Special Economic Zone. The event is chronicled in the Chinese ballad "The Story of Spring (春天的故事)". China Merchants Group helped developed Shekou into a modern port city through (1) developing the industrial park, (2) building a port which was highly accessible to the village, and (3) building urban residences.[2]: 96 China Merchants Group developed a reputation for this approach to development, which is called the Port-Park-City model or the Shekou model.[2]: 96
Since the 1980s, after foreign oil majors such asAgip,[3]Chevron,[4][5]Texaco,[3]Statoil[6] andShell[7] obtained concessions for oil exploration in theSouth China Sea, Shekou started serving as a base for a small contingent of foreignoil platform workers, since qualified personnel were not available locally. As a result of this first mover advantage in catering for mainly western tastes in housing, food and drink, entertainment and schooling, at a time when no alternatives were available in the area, Shekou gradually became home to the majority of the expatriate population working in and aroundShenzhen and part of its hinterland in thePearl River Delta. This trend has however abated after 2003, after the country's continued economic reforms. Development of other parts of the city and substantial increase in English levels of university graduates have made life in the city proper more acceptable to many foreigners without school-age children.
In 2003, the local government, seeking to capitalize on the foreign flavor of the area, invested in a complete make-over ofSea World, turning it into a western-style entertainment area centered on the groundedMinghua[8] (明华) ship, a 14,000 ton, 168 m long vessel built in 1962 as a French ferry vessel purchased by China in 1973. It is commonly, though incorrectly, referred to by many locals as French PresidentCharles De Gaulle's private yacht. Minghua is now completely landlocked due to extensive localland reclamation andredevelopment efforts.
Shekou is undergoing a major redevelopment project, costing an excess of 60 billion RMB. This included the construction of dozens of office and residential towers (such as theChina Merchants Tower),a new cruise center replacingthe old ferry terminal, a number of shopping malls around Sea World and the refurbishment of numerous older buildings.[9]
Line 2 ofthe city's metro ends inChiwan, an area just west of Shekou, therefore the line is also known as theShekou line. Stations geographically located in Shekou include, among othersSea World andShekou Port.Line 12 is a new line which will go to the east of Nanshan. It connects with the Shekou line at Chiwan.
Shekou Cruise Center, which replaced theShekou Port Ferry Terminal, offers regular ferry services to and fromHong Kong,Macau andZhuhai. In regards to ferries from Hong Kong and Macau, the customs and immigration process is completed upon disembarking the ferry. Passengers taking ferries directly to Hong Kong International Airport can also check in for some flights at the terminal. Coming from Hong Kong International Airport, passengers can buy ferry tickets upon landing in Hong Kong, they do not need to go through customs in Hong Kong or collect their luggage. They can pick up their checked in luggage once arriving and going through customs in Shekou. The ferry runs throughout the day from 8.15AM - 9.50PM. There are also buses travelling from the terminal to theShenzhen Bao'an International Airport.[10]
The Shekou container port is part of the large port complex of Shenzhen. Shekou port is one of the main fruit import cities in south China. The port is part of the21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast via theSuez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the hub ofTrieste with its rail connections toCentral andEastern Europe.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
The area attracts many tourists and has a sizable community of resident foreigners, and many non-Chinese restaurants exist in the area.[18] According to the Shenzhen Management and Service Center for Expats, 6,275 of the 43,919 registered expats living in Shenzhen are registered with the Shekou Police Station and Shenzhenwan Police Station alone.[19]
Primary and secondary schools for local Mainland Chinese students include:
International primary and secondary schools in Shekou include:
Supplementary schools:
Shekou was chosen as the location for China's first Management and Service Center for Expats. The new facilities provide an information center for locals as well as a place where foreigners can get assistance from very friendly English-speaking staff. The types of assistance they offer include registration services for expats living in the area so foreigners no longer need to go to the police station, advice on marriage or disputes with landlords and employers, guidelines on leases, traveling, currency exchange and more.[19]
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