Each spring, as Shenzhen’s mangroves burst into life, the region becomes a prime spot for birdwatchers observing the endangered black-faced spoonbill. Known as the giant panda of birds, this species winters in Shenzhen Bay from October to April, in preparation for its northbound migration.

Shenzhen Bay, located in southern China and part of the Pearl River Delta expanding into Hong Kong, is a crucial stop-off point for migratory birds using the East Asian-Australasian flyway. The mangroves support over 200 species of birds and host 100,000 migratory birds each winter, drawing enthusiasts and scientists alike to witness these natural spectacles against the backdrop of one of China’s most bustling urban settings.

Amid the rapid urbanisation that defines modern China, Shenzhen stands out not just for its “futuristic” skyline, but also for its efforts to reassert its ecological priorities. After significant mangrove losses due to aggressive development, Shenzhen’s mangrove recovery has been  “unprecedented”. This resurgence earned one of its wetlands a designation of international importance under the Ramsar Convention in 2022.

The city’s approach to conservation, involving robust policy enforcement and community engagement, illustrates how urban areas can successfully integrate significant ecological habitats, reversing ecological decline in vulnerable delta regions.

Historical ecological decline

Shenzhen’s transformation from a quaint fishing village in 1979 into a bustling international metropolis epitomises China’s rapid urbanisation. As the country’s first special economic zone, it spearheaded economic reforms, but at a significant environmental cost. Extensive land reclamation for commercial and residential development drastically reduced mangrove habitats to a low of 50 hectares in 1991.

The introduction of non-native, quick-growing tree species like Sonneratia apetala, intended as a quick-fix for mangrove restoration and coastal stabilisation, resulted in excessive growth and disrupted native biodiversity. This proliferation created destabilising monocultures, obstructed flood discharge channels and increased waterlogging, complicating flood management efforts.

Restoration efforts and policies

Shenzhen’s 260-km-long coastline, fortified by mangroves, serves as the first line of defence against climate-related disasters. However, environmental stressors such as floods and waterlogging have undermined the coastlines’ structural integrity, diminishing the mangroves’ protective role.

Recognising this vulnerability, the city authorities reversed course in the 2020s, embracing a strategic approach that included selective tree reduction. Haichao Zhou, an associate researcher at Shenzhen University, serves on the conservation panel that recommended a nature-based restoration plan. This strategy, focused on systematically removing fast-growing invasive species, was recently adopted by the local government.

According to the city’s 2023 environmental report, Shenzhen created 12.72 hectares and restored 13.08 hectares of mangroves in 2022 by selectively cutting fast-growing Sonneratia apetala. Although this resulted in a brief fall in overall mangrove cover, it facilitated the regrowth of native species, enabling them to recolonise the wetlands.

“Through careful management practices such as those adopted in Shenzhen, including judicious thinning, selective logging and maintaining suitable hydrological conditions, native species can naturally recover, enhancing mangrove diversity,” Zhou told Dialogue Earth.

Central to Shenzhen’s success in restoring its mangroves is an integrated management strategy, combining a unique governance model with strict regulatory measures. Since 2018, the enforcement of land reclamation bans, which prohibit new coastal reclamations, particularly around mangrove forests, have significantly contributed to their protection.

The 2021 National Wetland Law further bolstered conservation efforts by providing a strong legal framework, which also prohibited unauthorised land reclamation, set “ecological red lines”, promoted mangrove restoration and sustainable use of wetland resources. The law mandates strict penalties for violations and underscores the importance of wetland biodiversity. In Futian district, mangroves have also proven effective in treating municipal sewage, demonstrating the multifaceted benefits of integrating natural ecosystems into urban infrastructure. Today, the city boasts nearly 35,000 hectares of wetlands, with 296.18 hectares reserved for mangroves.

The largest concentration of mangroves, covering around 100 hectares, is found in the Futian Mangrove National Nature Reserve. It forms a critical ecological corridor, connecting fragmented mangrove areas across urban spaces, facilitating bird migration, improving their survival rates and serving as natural barriers against urban encroachment.

Between 2000 and 2022, mangrove cover across Shenzhen Bay expanded significantly from 281.51 to 526.43 hectares, countering the global trend of mangrove loss.

With Hong Kong on its southern side, Shenzhen Bay is ringed with parks and nature reserves. Together, they play a crucial role in conserving and restoring this shared coastal ecosystem (Graphic: Dialogue Earth)

Multi-stakeholder collaboration

East of the Futian nature reserve is the Futian Mangrove Ecological Park, a pioneering model of public resource management, highlighting the effectiveness of multi-stakeholder collaboration. Managed by the Mangrove Conservation Foundation (MCF) since 2015, it is China’s first government-mandated park managed by an NGO.

The MCF, founded in 2012 with support from 32 entrepreneurs and the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology – China’s first NGO formed of entrepreneurs dedicated to ecological protection and social responsibility – features a governance model with publicly elected trustees, ensuring robust accountability and community involvement.

Baohua Yan, the MCF’s secretary general, emphasised the foundation’s role in bridging conservation efforts between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, repurposing traditional fishponds, known as gei wai, into high-tide habitats for birds. “As gei wai aquaculture practices are no longer conducted in Futian Mangrove Nature Reserve, fishponds now require adjustments and adaptations from the ‘perspective of birds’,” she told Dialogue Earth.

Inspired by techniques from Hong Kong’s Mai Po Nature Reserve, the restoration of gei wai fishponds in the Futian Nature Reserve has converted them into diverse bird habitats, leading to an additional population of 28 water bird species and 13,737 individual birds.

“Shenzhen Bay has limited wetland space, it is unlikely that developed areas will be reconverted into wetlands. Our actions are aimed at maximising the ecological functionality of existing wetland resources,” said Yan.

Lili Sun, founder and deputy board chairwoman of MCF, has championed this innovative social participation model “to strengthen conservation efforts and enhance public resource management”.

The government oversees the park to ensure compliance with environmental policies and standards, providing support in funding, resources and technical assistance. This public-private partnership combines government oversight with NGO flexibility to achieve sustainable public resource management.

“Our work in managing the park and our involvement in community outreach illustrate the vital role NGOs play in bridging government efforts with public interest,” explained Sun. This engagement has increased local and visitor participation in birdwatching, leading to dedicated groups across Shenzhen. Today, Shenzhen boasts 10 provincial-level nature education bases, 22 nature schools and 27 nature education centres.

Sun’s comments were echoed by Yuying Ouyang, a local volunteer and nature-based educator. She told Dialogue Earth that increased birdwatching has raised awareness about mangrove wetlands. For example, public opposition successfully halted a controversial local 2020 tourism cruise dredging project, which threatened mangroves and migratory birds, demonstrating the vital role public awareness and nature education play in conservation efforts.

“The public might have a different attitude towards cruise tourism without birdwatching and nature education,” said Ouyang. “They wouldn’t otherwise understand the significance of preserving a stretch of muddy flats.”

Assessing the success of restoration efforts

A key indicator of Shenzhen’s mangrove restoration success is the resurgence of the black-faced spoonbill population in Shenzhen Bay. Once critically endangered, this species now benefits from improved habitat conditions.

“During the 1980s, the global population of black-faced spoonbills dropped to fewer than 300 individuals. However, concerted conservation efforts across their migratory range have proved hugely successful,” explained Qijie Zan, a mangrove expert from the Futian nature reserve. A 2023 census reported a record 6,633 of these birds globally, with Shenzhen Bay alone hosting 299, making it the world’s third-largest habitat for the species.

Beyond wildlife benefits, mangroves offer critical ecosystem services such as coastal protection, carbon sequestration and water purification, contributing to climate change mitigation and resilience against natural disasters. According to one government report, every 100 hectares of mangroves in Shenzhen Bay absorbs nearly 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. The rerouting of rain and sewage flow has improved water quality, increasing animal and microbial diversity and enhancing the ecosystem’s resilience against extreme weather events.

“Shenzhen’s comprehensive approach to environmental management has positioned it as a leader in urban sustainability,” said Ma Jun, director at the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), an environmental organisation based in Beijing. Shenzhen has one of the lowest pollution rates in China. “Shenzhen’s initiatives have helped it perform very well on the [IPE] Beautiful City Index, underscoring the city’s role as a model for others to follow,” Ma added.

A positive side-effect of a population invested in birds is the shift in public attitudes towards conservation, subsequently influencing government policy on habitat preservation. In June, China’s National Development and Reform Commission released an action plan for migratory bird flyway protection and restoration, addressing critical challenges in southern China’s wetlands, including human interference, habitat fragmentation, degradation and invasive species. The plan aims to protect 90% of habitats along migratory bird flyways by 2030, establishing a comprehensive national conservation network.

There has been an increase in birdwatching that is not unique to Shenzhen. The number of birdwatchers across China has increased more than tenfold in the past decade, with the 2023 census putting the number of birdwatchers at 340,000, up from 20,000 in 2010.

Lu Li, head of the Wild Bird Society, a Beijing-based birdwatching group, highlighted the growing impact of this trend. “As birdwatching becomes more popular, people’s attitudes towards bird conservation and habitat protection improve,” she said. In places like Yunnan, Jiangsu and Beijing, birdwatchers have played a significant role in shaping policy advocacy and planning. She told Dialogue Earth: “Now, when the government undertakes certain projects, there is an increasing consideration to preserve habitats for birds.” Ultimately, what benefits birds also benefits people.

Future challenges to conservation efforts

Despite Shenzhen’s successes, multiple threats to its mangroves and bird populations remain. As the city expands, the pressure on natural habitats continues to intensify.

Sponge cities are one innovative solution that has emerged. These aim to address stormwater run-off in urban areas through green infrastructure, such as permeable pavements, green roofs, rain gardens and constructed wetlands. These measures help to prevent flooding and reduce pollutants that can harm waterways including wetlands and mangroves.

Jianbin Shi, a wetland expert at the Paulson Institute, noted that “industrial wastewater is perhaps the greatest threat to wetlands” across the Pearl River Delta, where birds also face risks from colliding into skyscrapers. Historically, land reclamations have been used to curb rising house prices, a temptation that could return with increasing population pressures, despite existing regulatory bans. Although for now, the opposite seems to be true. Despite beating expectations with 5.3% GP in 2023, China’s economic recovery remains unsteady. With fewer houses being sold, the government is currently focused on encouraging house buying rather than resorting to land reclamation.

The long-awaited Shenzhen Wetland Protection Plan (2021-2035), which aims to enhance wetland protection and establish Shenzhen as an international wetland city, is still being drafted; a finalised version is not expected before July 2024. Making it available to the public will foster accountability and assist in strategic planning. Accelerating the timeline for the world’s first international mangrove centre – to be built in Shenzhen in collaboration with Ramsar – would also help.

Addressing these challenges will better position Shenzhen to navigate the complexities of urban development while maintaining its commitment to mangrove protection. In the meantime, ongoing public engagement and education programmes will help sustain conservation efforts, making environmental preservation a shared responsibility. The Futian Mangrove Ecological Park offers a template that promotes transparency, community participation and scalability for broader application in China and beyond.

Ma Jun emphasised the importance of continued commitment: “Shenzhen’s environmental strategy serves as a blueprint for sustainable urban development. Continued efforts in public education and technological integration will be crucial for future success.”

This article was originally published on Dialogue Earth with the title “How China’s most ‘futuristic’ city restored its mangroves” and has been reproduced under the Creative Commons BY NC ND licence.

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The number of newly registered companies in Shenzhen jumped 10.4% in the first six months of 2021 as the city kept its pole position in China for startups. From January to June, there were 258,449 newly registered commercial entities in the city. Based on the official resident population of 17.5601 million, the city has 208.6 commercial entities and 131.5 enterprises per thousand people, ranking number one in the country.

Newly registered commercial entities were concentrated in the services industry, accounting for more than 90% of the total. From January to May, the operating income of the city’s for-profit service industry increased by 26.1%, an average increase of 15.1% in the two years. Among strategic emerging industries, there were 17,074 registrations of “new generation information technology” companies, a year-on-year increase of 82.3%.

Shenzhen’s economy pushed back closer to its pre-pandemic growth in the first half of this year, despite a blip in June caused by a Covid-19 outbreak in Guangdong. With GDP rising 9.7% in the first half of 2020, that equated to a 4.8% rise on two-year comparison with the same period in 2019. It’s not yet the 6% mark that Shenzhen had been comfortable with pre-pandemic, but the bright spot appears to be the development of new strategic industries and the services sector.

According to the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Statistics, 20 strategic emerging industrial clusters grew 13% to generate output of RMB 563.086 billion (GDP 62.5 billion) in the first half, accounting for 39.3% of the city’s GDP. The star was high-end equipment manufacturing, up 44.1%, while the marine economy rose 30.9%. A broad category called “digital and fashion” rose 23.9%, while new materials was up 22.5%. There was also positive news on the green front, as low-carbon industries jumped by 19.9%.

Industrial robots had a good boost, up 79.5%, an average increase of 61.5% in two years; the output of new energy vehicles and charging piles increased by 3.28 times and 1.21 times, respectively, with an average increase of 30.4% and 66.8% in two years; the output of 3D printing equipment increased by 32.4%, an average increase of 1.38 times in the two years.

This post was originally published by our content partner Greater Bay Insight

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Juan Du is Associate Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and a founding director of the Shenzhen Centre for Design. Her new book ‘The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China’s Instant City’ (Harvard University Press) emerged from her active involvement in the ongoing development and planning of the city.

It’s a study of a city planned to foster innovation, business and co-operation, as well as a new home for millions of migrant workers and their families from across the country.

Juan Du asks whether Shenzhen is the blueprint for a modern Chinese city, and what lessons have been learned since Deng Xiaoping supported the opening up of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Paul French caught up with Juan Du on her commute between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

PF: You’ve long shuttled between Beijing and Hong Kong but what first attracted you to Shenzhen?

JD: I was based in Beijing when I first started travelling to Shenzhen to work on the First Shenzhen Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism in 2005. Shenzhen’s so-called ‘villages within the city’ quickly caught my attention. Their unique street culture, diverse architectural and urban form, as well as the way people lived and inhabited the public spaces, were in such a stark contrast to the rest of the city.

These neighbourhoods struck me as being quite opposite to the outward image of Shenzhen – an overnight instant city without a history or culture of its own.

Shenzhen was certainly not a small fishing village, at least not during its past millennium of history.

I moved to the US in early 2006 to teach at MIT. However, my mind kept returning to China, and especially to Shenzhen. So I decided to accept an offer to teach at HKU and one motivation behind this move was Hong Kong’s proximity to Shenzhen.

Over the next 14 years, I worked with various communities in both cities. The initial fascination of Shenzhen’s urban villages gradually developed into a more comprehensive understanding of the overall city and the surrounding region.

PF: You challenge the idea of Shenzhen as a ‘blank canvas’ where nothing much existed before. What was Shenzhen, before it was Shenzhen? 

JD: While it has gone through many reincarnations throughout the past centuries, Shenzhen was certainly not a small fishing village, at least not during its past millennium of history.

Just prior to the designation as the City of Shenzhen in 1979, the approximately 2,000 square kilometres of land was known as Bao’an County, with a population of around 300,000 distributed across 2,000 villages, as well as small townships.

From serving as an important salt-production and administrative capital during the Han Dynasty to that of a major port on the South China Sea’s ancient maritime Silk Road, the area’s history was no less remarkable before it became Shenzhen.

During the more recent history, Bao’an County’s agricultural and aquacultural productions, such as lychees and oysters, were important exports in the 1950s.

From long-established agricultural, fishery, and sea-faring activities, to the industrial, commercial, and cultural enterprises of the past century, the existence of a productive population with deep connections to an extensive regional and international network absolutely impacted Shenzhen’s urbanisation into the city as we know it today.

PF: You talk about the ‘villages within the city’ – can you explain what these are and whether they are likely to survive?

JD: The ‘villages within the city,’ or ‘urban villages,’ are densely populated neighbourhoods where indigenous villagers built and own most of the properties. During the first decade of Shenzhen’s urbanisation, in order to meet the demands of a massive population of migrant workers seeking housing in the city, the villagers tore down their two-story houses and built up four- to eight-story tall mid-rise housing. These rentals gave the villagers sources of income and provided homes to the millions of migrants in the city.

There are approximately 300 urban villages in Shenzhen today. Collectively, they house around 10 million residents – about half the city’s total population. While the municipality has made efforts to demolish and redevelop urban villages, the population was too large and negotiations on property rights so complex and expensive, that only a handful of urban villages have been demolished and rebuilt.

In more recent years, Shenzhen has recognised the importance of these neighbourhoods as providers of affordable housing to the city’s working population, and the current urban planning policy is indicating a different approach – one of rehabilitation rather than total redevelopment.  Over the next decade, while the socio-economic characteristics will continue to change and evolve, I believe most of the urban villages in Shenzhen will remain.

PF: Shenzhen was so important to the early decades of Deng Xiaoping’s Reform and Opening Up movement, but now with so many cities being designated Special Economic Zone (SEZ), what, if anything, remains unique and important about Shenzhen?

JD: There have been hundreds of SEZ’s and new areas established in China since the 1980s, but not even one comes close to Shenzhen. This has not deterred more ongoing efforts of economic or industrial zone developments in China. Viewing Shenzhen’s role as an industrial or economic zone only would be a mistake for anyone wishing to understand or emulate its development.

Shenzhen started as a SEZ, and it quickly evolved into a complex and multidimensional city. While various pioneering commercial activities in the industrial zones of Shenzhen contributed to its unique development, this city of 20 million offers important lessons not only on economic or urban development, but also on the cultural and social importance of cities in general.

At the time of researching and writing my book, I found that the most unique aspects of Shenzhen are often contrary to the current model of industrial zone development, such as the role of the local indigenous population, the collective economic power of SMEs, as well as the importance of affordable housing for migrants.

PF: Many foreign companies with investments and factories in Shenzhen say it is the newness of the city – not just the buildings and infrastructure, but also that nobody has traditional ties to the city – that makes it a good place to do business. You butt up against far fewer social and cultural problems than you might elsewhere. Do you think this is true, even now after four decades of Shenzhen?

JD: I understand the sentiment. This newness of the city and lack of traditional ties is reflective of Shenzhen as a migrant city – from the government to the factory managers.  Everyone is in Shenzhen because he or she made a choice to leave their hometown to come to a new city. This motivational quality is one of the most overlooked unique aspects of the city.

In addition, Shenzhen was the first city in China to break the mould of state-owned enterprises with tenured employment. Not only was the city new to the arriving population, but the rules of work were also new.

PF: Shenzhen – an interesting experiment or a model city of the future?

JD: Shenzhen is an experimental city that can provide many valuable lessons for future cities.  However it is not a model city in the ways in which it has been generalised – that of central planning, government control, foreign direct investment, etc.

Shenzhen was not only China’s tentative test of a market economy, rather it was a critical experiment. The city was a site of cultural, social and political experimentations that were directly opposite to the way the rest of the country existed in the 80s and 90s.  I hope Shenzhen continues to be a critical experiment for China and the rest of the world.

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To sustain continued, robust economic growth – something of crucial importance to its legitimacy and stability – the Chinese government has lately employed a bold stimulus plan of “city grouping” (chengshiqun), the creation of a few megacities by integrating groups of cities and nearby rural areas. So far, Beijing has decreed that four “world-class” megacities should be formed: the Jingjinji Integration (2015) in the north, which includes Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province (population: 110 million); the Chengdu-Chongqing City Group (2016) in the west, with 18 cities (population: 91 million); the Yangtze Delta City Group (2016) in the east that includes Shanghai and two dozen other cities in three provinces (population: 150 million); and the latest, the Greater Bay Area (2019) in the south, with nine cities that include Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou (population: 70 million). In addition, seven cross-provincial “national” megalopolises were also approved in 2017-18, with a total population of around 410 million: The Middle Yangtze, The Central-Plains, The Harbin-Changchun, The Beibu Gulf, The Guanzhong Plains, The Hubaoeryu, and The Lanzhou-Xining.

China’s megacities

City grouping is an example of central planning with key Chinese characteristics. It focuses on the economically prosperous and politically important regions and in it, one can see some vestiges of the “Major Region” (daqu) structure of governance and planning from the Mao era. It also allows for economies of scale to come into play. Efficient chains of production and logistic networks have already been extensively developed among the cities in these areas, and even more synergy and streamlining is likely to be harvested by further integration. It’s also worth noting that the Greater Bay Area’s design may have an additional political motive: a tighter control over the two wealthy but occasionally politically complex Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macao.

It may be somewhat self-evident, but if the megacities can elevate themselves onto the next level of economic development, there would be enough of a boost to lift the boat of the whole Chinese economy

There are more peculiar motives as well. The megacity push reflects Beijing’s sometimes contradictory needs to maintain strong political control while stimulating the economy. It is a way to uphold the all-important household registration (hukou) system that segregates and controls the people by regulating internal migration whilst simultaneously increasing the mobility of resources, including labour and homebuyers, so as to generate new growth. By giving the most desirable first- and second-tier cities more towns to expand into, the influx of migrant “low-end people” into the glittering urban centres may be more reliably diverted and managed, while ensuring the continuation of economically beneficial urbanisation.

China’s Jingjinji Megacity area

It may be somewhat self-evident, but if the megacities, each comparable to a major EU member country in size, can elevate themselves onto the next level of economic development whilst avoiding the so-called “middle-income trap,” there would be enough of a boost to lift the boat of the whole Chinese economy, even though the rest of the country (up to three-fifths of the population) may be left behind. To be sure, China’s impressive economic growth over the past three decades has been an extraordinary model of a dual-economy and multiple societies functioning under a single government.

As it is now politically favoured, just about every provincial capital has been expanding massively to “absorb” nearby cities and counties

Like so many other central planning policies though, the devil of the megacity plan is in the detail. The plan is mostly an “administrative urbanisation” that may only lead to minimal economic advantages, if any are forthcoming at all. Urbanisation through official re-categorisation or renaming of people from rural to urban, or from lower-tier towns to higher-tier cities, is not the same as urbanisation driven by market forces. Within each megacity, there are also still numerous control mechanisms and exclusion barriers based on where one’s hukou is located:  the “central districts,” the “non-central districts,” the “remote districts” (formerly county-seats and townships), and the rural.

As it is now politically favoured, city-grouping has been emulated throughout China. Just about every provincial capital, for example, has been expanding massively to “absorb” nearby cities and counties, renaming them city districts. The national megacities and the many more “regional” mini-megacities, both inter- and intra-provincial, may make the report cards of the local governments look nice in terms of GDP figures, growth rate, and the urbanisation ratio. But the real impact on economic efficiency remains questionable. The scheme has allowed for land grabs by local officials and their contractor friends. Bureaucratic re-categorisation of regions and ever greater concentrations of power have already led to waste, irrational resource allocation, and reduced competition and innovation, contrary to the optimistic ambitions behind the plan.

The Greater Bay Area

The Greater Bay plan may bring an additional pitfall for those in Hong Kong and Macao: as they witness more complete administrative integration of the two SARs with the PRC, foreign countries like the United States may find themselves reconsidering their special treatment of the two cities, causing the “value” of the SAR brand to evaporate quickly.

Fei-Ling Wang is Professor of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, USA. His published books include Organization through Division and Exclusion: China’s Hukou System (Stanford University Press, 2005) and The China Order: Centralia, World Empire, and the Nature of Chinese Power (State University of New York Press, 2017).

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