22°29′10″N 113°54′40″E / 22.486°N 113.911°E / 22.486; 113.911

Shekou
Chinese蛇口
Literal meaningSnake's Mouth
Map showing Shenzhen and Hong Kong
🌍

Shekou (Chinese: 蛇口; pinyin: Shékǒu) is an area at the southern tip of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. It faces Yuen Long, Hong Kong across the Shenzhen Bay. It has been designated as a Free Trade Zone by the government, alongside Qianhai, Hengqin and Nansha New Area.[1]

History

The area was formerly a customs station of Bao'an County. On 31 January 1979, it became officially known as the Shekou Industrial Zone, developed solely by China Merchants Group of Hong Kong under Yuan Geng's leadership, earlier than the formation of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. The event is chronicled in the Chinese ballad "The Story of Spring (春天的故事)".

Since the 1980s, after foreign oil majors such as Agip,[2] Chevron,[3][4] Texaco,[2] Statoil[5] and Shell[6] obtained concessions for oil exploration in the South China Sea, Shekou started serving as a base for a small contingent of foreign oil 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 around Shenzhen and part of its hinterland in the Pearl 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 of Sea World, turning it into a western-style entertainment area centered on the grounded Minghua[7] (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 President Charles De Gaulle's private yacht. Minghua is now completely landlocked due to extensive local land reclamation and redevelopment 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 the China Merchants Tower), a new cruise center replacing the old ferry terminal, a number of shopping malls around Sea World and the refurbishment of numerous older buildings.[8]

Transportation

Line 2 of the city's metro ends in Chiwan, an area just west of Shekou, therefore the line is also known as the Shekou line. Stations geographically located in Shekou include, among others Sea World and Shekou 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 the Shekou Port Ferry Terminal, offers regular ferry services to and from Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai. 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 the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.[9]

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 the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

Community

The area attracts many tourists and has a sizable community of resident foreigners, and many non-Chinese restaurants exist in the area.[17] 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.[18]

Education

Shekou School (蛇口学校), which houses primary and secondary grades

Primary and secondary schools for local Mainland Chinese students include:

  • Shekou School, which houses primary and secondary grades
  • Shenzhen Yucai Education Group, which includes one high school, two middle schools, four primary schools and 4 nursery schools

International primary and secondary schools in Shekou include:

Supplementary schools:

  • Previously the Shenzhen Saturday School (深・(ｼﾝｾﾝ)補習授業校, formerly SHENZHEN日本人 補習校), a Japanese supplementary school, was based in the Ming Wah International Convention Centre (明华国际会议中心) in Shekou.[22]

Museums

Resource for foreigners

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.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "前海携手蛇口进入自贸区将为深圳带来多少惊喜？(图)".
  2. 1 2 Agip, Chevron And Texaco Sign Agreement To Study New Tract Offshore China – Pr Newswire
  3. ↑ Multinational Monitor: Chevron, the big oil boys
  4. ↑ People's Daily, 14 June 2001: More oil found in the South China Sea
  5. ↑ Statoil China office contact details
  6. ↑ Geotimes, February 2008: Squabbles over the South China Sea
  7. ↑ Sea World
  8. ↑ "蛇口嬗变 招商600亿再造新蛇口".
  9. ↑ "深圳蛇口招港客运网". www.szgky.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2006.
  10. ↑ Port of Shekou
  11. ↑ Can the New Silk Road Compete with the Maritime Silk Road?
  12. ↑ China's maritime Silk Road plan starts a wave of bandwagon jumping at home
  13. ↑ The Maritime Silk Road in South-East Asia.
  14. ↑ Top 10 ports in China
  15. ↑ "Shekou port hopes to welcome first 'fast-ship' with cherries directly from Chile"
  16. ↑ Ocean Alliance conferma Genova, Spezia e Trieste per la programmazione 2021
  17. ↑ "Shenzhen - Travel Guide, Reviews, News today in China".
  18. 1 2 "Tour the NEW Management and Service Center for Expats in Shekou". 29 June 2017.
  19. ↑ "Shenzhen's first Japanese school opens in Shekou" (Archive). Shenzhen Daily. 16 June 2008. Retrieved on 14 January 2015. Alternate link at (Archive) Xinhua, Alternate link at Newsgd.com.
  20. ↑ "深圳日本人学校　事務職員　募集要項." Shenzhen Japanese School. Retrieved on 14 January 2015. "連絡先 深圳日本人学校 中華人民共和国広東省深圳市南山区工業八路295号"
  21. ↑ Home page. Korean International School of Shenzhen (Korean section). Retrieved on 17 June 2015. "우) 441-110 中国 广东省 深圳市 南山区 蛇口 沿山路 51号"
  22. ↑ "アジアの補習授業校一覧" (). MEXT. 2 January 2003. Retrieved on 12 January 2018. "中華人民共和国広東省SHENZHEN市蛇口工業區亀山路８號「明華国際会議中心」"
  23. ↑ "Preview: NEW Sea World Culture and Arts Center (Coming Soon)". shekoudaily.cn. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017.
  24. ↑ "Free Entry to the NEW Maritime Museum in Shekou Shenzhen". shekoudaily.cn. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017.
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