At 9 a.m., several villagers have gathered in front of the merit points bulletin board in Hongyuan Village. Veteran villager Ye carefully checked the points his family had earned from tidying up the surroundings of their house the previous month. “I’ve saved up enough points! Next month I’ll get priority recommendation for a part-time job in the industrial park,” he said, a smile spreading across his tanned face.
Not far away, newly completed villagers’ apartment buildings stand out brightly in the morning light, with several households busy renovating their homes. Three years ago, this area was a haphazardly laid-out village; three years on, a new life that blends urban governance with rural warmth is taking root and flourishing on the land of the Shenzhen-Shantou Special Cooperation Zone (SSSZ).
This is the third year that SSSZ has been advancing the “100 Counties, 1,000 Towns and 10,000 Villages Project”. Since 2022, this once economic depression has achieved an astonishing leap forward. Its gross regional product has surged from 8.425 billion yuan to 24.215 billion yuan by the end of 2024, and more importantly, its industries, rural areas, governance and people’s wellbeing have all taken on an entirely new look. Over the past three years, SSSZ has embraced an upgraded leapfrog development, steadily consolidating and strengthening its role as a strategic engine for the high-quality development of the eastern sector of the Shenzhen metropolitan area.
The Pulse of the Industrial Chain: Symbiosis of an Automobile and a City
At Xiaomo International Logistics Port, a huge roll-on/roll-off ship is slowly berthing, loaded with BYD new energy vehicles ready for export. Not far from the port lies the core bearing area of Shenzhen’s new-generation world-class auto city – the Shenshan BYD Industrial Park.
Stamping, welding, painting, final assembly… In the highly automated workshops, a new car rolls off the production line every 60 seconds. From 2023 to November 2025, the park has produced a total of about 492,000 complete vehicles, with a total output value exceeding 118.32 billion yuan. This industrial giant is the core heart of SSSZ’s industrial economy.
The heartbeat of this core drives the circulation of blood throughout the whole body. With BYD as the core, more than 100 supporting enterprises have flocked here, covering upstream battery, motor and electronic control sectors as well as downstream logistics, sales and financial services. A complete new energy vehicle industrial chain has rapidly taken shape through agglomeration.
The three auxiliary industries are like sturdy limbs supporting the core. The Shenshan High-end Electronic Chemicals Industrial Park is accelerating its completion, set to supply the “grain” for chip manufacturing. In the Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Industrial Park, robotic arms of enterprises such as Huarui Fengsheng and Xiankong Technology move flexibly. Platforms including the Shenshan Bay Science and Technology City and the Xiaomo Port Trade and Logistics Park have risen rapidly, laying a solid foundation for “Shenshan Intelligent Manufacturing”.
The rise of industries has completely changed people’s life trajectories. After the Phase II of Shenshan BYD Industrial Park went into production in Xiaomo Subdistrict, more than 20,000 people flocked into this former small agricultural and fishing town overnight.
Lin Zhenyu, a villager from Yunxin Village, spotted the business opportunity and set up a food stall on the snack street next to the BYD factory. His tasty and affordable pork knuckle rice has attracted many factory workers, bringing a thriving life to his family. “I used to think my hometown couldn’t hold people back. Now world-class enterprises are right at our doorstep. I earn a decent income and can take care of my family at the same time,” he said.
A New Harvest on the Land: From “Living at the Mercy of the Heavens” to “Seeking Carbon Benefits from the Sea”
Agriculture remains the foundation of SSSZ, but its connotation has been completely renewed.
In the Ebu area, nearly 10,000 mu of hybrid rice paddies ripple with green waves. The Guangdong Branch of the National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center has been introduced here, planting high-yield and high-quality “Shenshan Rice”. The grain sown area and total output have exceeded the annual targets for three consecutive years, ensuring a stable food supply for local residents.
Prospering by the sea is the blue chapter of SSSZ’s development. Houmen Fishing Port is no longer just a harbor for fishing boats to return; it has been approved for the construction of a provincial coastal fishing port economic zone. More notably, not far offshore, Shenzhen’s first modern marine ranch deep-sea cage project has been successfully launched. The huge cages, like maritime fortresses, nurture high-quality deep-sea fish.
Meanwhile, a carbon transaction has revealed the “green value” of SSSZ’s agriculture. Last year, SSSZ completed the first oyster farming carbon sink transaction in Shenzhen city.
Branding is the key to value appreciation. Under the regional public brand of Shenshan Younong, a dried seafood gift box named Boundless Joy from the Sea won the Gold Award of the Kunpeng Prize at the 2025 Shenzhen Global Design Awards with its creative design full of fishing village customs. Local mountain specialties and seafood are stepping out of SSSZ with a brand-new image and higher value.
A New Landscape Amid Mountains and Waters: When Countryside Trails Meet Cycling Lanes
Cycling along the newly built 15-kilometer “Zhenmei” Greenway is a wonderful experience: one end connects a modern industrial park lined with factories, and the other links quiet and ancient characteristic villages. This winding cycling lane is like a soft silk ribbon, weaving industrial vitality with pastoral poetry together.
Over the past three years, SSSZ has built a total of 102.8 kilometers of countryside trails and 14 municipal parks. The implementation of the “Red, Green and Blue” development strategy in advancing the “100 Counties, 1,000 Towns and 10,000 Villages Project” has brought a comprehensive facelift to the whole area.
- Red represents the revitalized Da’an Red Culture Park, a revolutionary heritage site whose red research and study route has won a provincial award;
- Green stands for national Class A tourist homestays such as the Peach Blossom Garden Art Village, nestled in mountains with a distant and poetic mood;
- Blue refers to agriculture, culture and tourism projects selected as key provincial investment targets, such as Xinyuan Water Town, where rippling water carries the nostalgia of the hometown.
The blurring of urban-rural boundaries is more reflected in the invisible aspects. All natural villages in the zone have achieved 100% road hardening and centralized water supply, with full coverage of livelihood supporting facilities such as 5G networks and express logistics services. Education and medical care are accelerating the integration with Shenzhen: several schools co-run with prestigious Shenzhen schools have been completed and put into use, the Shenshan People’s Hospital will be operational by the end of the year, and 10 standardized village health centers built with public funds guard the health of villagers.
The “100 Counties, 1,000 Towns and 10,000 Villages Project” is not an end, but a new starting point. In the future, SSSZ will continue to turn the blueprint of future rural areas into reality, striving for more advanced industries, more harmonious and beautiful villages, and deeper integration of urban and rural areas.