Capitalism >> Socialism

Shenzhen feels like a bubble about to burst. Retail is everywhere. I want to walk around outside but buses zoom by on the huge, dual-carriage, partitioned streets. It is not a pedestrian-friendly place. In a country teeming with people, flattening one who naively strolls onto street does not seem to be a loss of great concern.

In the pedestrian-only shopping area (‘bo huang gai’), shops are full of vast goods: clothes, shoes, accessories, snack food, drinks, etc. Street food stalls display a variety of edibles from northern-style flour cakes, corn steamed in rice cookers, preserved meat and vegetables, and sweet drinks prepared on the spot. Thumping beats fade in and out on the footpath as distorted Chinese pop music blasts out from each shop at top volume. People are dressed in trendy fashion, and the girls are wafer thin. There certainly is pressure of women to look ‘beautiful’: as soon as we surfaced from the subway station escalator, ladies stood awaiting with advertisements for cosmetic surgery. Local businesses know who has the money: one glimpse of Cantonese and my (male) friend is discreetly approached to buy porn. I saw the peddler approach but their superior skills in discretion, combined with my naivety, shielded my eyes from the multimedia goods.

It feels so fake; the people, the atmosphere, and even the aura is odd. China built Shenzhen up as a special economic zone, and the social implications of this are now being seen. As the buffer between a growing China and seemingly affluent Hong Kong, mainland Chinese flock to Shenzhen to earn a living, be it begging on the streets as an individual, in organised groups, or working in legit businesses. Touted as a haven for pickpockets and petty (or violent, if you’re unlucky) crime, you can feel the transience of the city amongst the bustle. People, money, businesses, and goods come and go, whether between China and Hong Kong or otherwise it does not matter. There is no feel of permanence here; among the sensory overload in the five hours of my visit, I can distinctly smell the persistent and determined hope of money and opportunity. And at street level, search as I might, there is not a trace of socialism to be seen...