40 years on, from a small fishing village to a metropolis

Lu Chang China Plus Published: 2018-05-23 20:02:13
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40 years on, from a small fishing village to a metropolis

The city of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province. [Photo: dp.pconline.com.cn]

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up. Once a small fishing village neiguboring Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China's first ecnomic reform zone, has evolved into a metropolis over the past four decades.

Luohu Yumin village, known as the "fishing village" of Shenzhen, is one of China's earliest villages to reap the financial rewards of the country's reform and opening-up. Having borne witness to all the changes in the past decades, local villagers know well how far they've come.

40 years on, from a small fishing village to a metropolis

Luohu Yumin village in the early 1980s. [Photo: baidu.com]

Located in the southern part of Shenzhen, Luohu Yumin village lies across the river from Hong Kong. The area is known for its clear water and rich fishery, attracted some fishermen from other parts of Guangdong during the 1930s and 1940s, who became the earlierst pioneers of the village. 

40 years on, from a small fishing village to a metropolis

62 years old Deng Jinhui is born and raised in Luohu Yumin village. [Photo: Lu Chang/ China Plus]

62 years old Deng Jinhui is an offerspring of them.

"My parents were fishermen from Dongguan, they settled down here with some dozens of people. I was born in 1960s in a thatched shed built on the fish pond. I have 5 sisters and brothers, my childhood was spent on the "boat house" of 20 square meters, far from enough space for a family of seven people."

For a long time, these fishermen lived solely on fishing and spent their entire lives on boats. 

"Sailing and fishing in the sea was not easy, you have to overcome the seasickness, especially when there's bad weather. Floating in the wind and waves, working at least seven to eight hours a day was our daily routine then."

Strong and brave, local fishermen like Deng Jinhui worked hard to better their lives. In neigboring Hong Kong, Yumin villagers started a cooperative fishing business with fishermen from the opposite bank by raising and selling fish to Hong Kong, and sharing the rewards with their partners. This can be seen as the early "opening-up" wisdom even before China's reform and opening-up policy in 1978.

40 years on, from a small fishing village to a metropolis

Deng Xiaoping visited Luohu Yumin village in 1984. [Photo: baidu.com]

Deng Jinhui has moved four times in his life. For him, the most impressive memory was the second move during the 1980s.

"My family built a 2-floor village villa in the early 1980s. Deng Xiaoping visited our village in 1984. I saw him from a distance that day, I was very excited. I remember he was walking along that street, then entered a fishermen's house. At that time, many families already owned televisions, every one's yearly income can reach up to several hundred yuan."

Shenzhen was established as China's first special economic zone by the nation's government in 1980. Since then, the brainchild of Deng Xiaoping has been a touchstone for China's reform and opening-up.

To construct a city from almost nothing, there was no other choice but to work hard. Residents of Shenzhen came up with the slogan, "Time is money, efficacy is life," a completely new concept for Chinese people during that period of time.

"We stopped fishing in the 1980s, and turned to work in the transportation sector. At that time people say, 'empty talk is harmful to the nation, while doing practical work will make it thrive.' No time for us to hesiate, we just kept moving on, doing what need to be done."

Not before long, the city with a huge ecnomic success has become "a place offering nothing but dreams". People across the country began to flock to Shenzhen, hoping for a new beginning.

Deng Jinhui moved to a new home again in the 1990s, as Yumin villagers were razing the original private homes and putting up multi-tier buildings. 

A decade later, the village had been rebuilt as an upscale residential area under a single village-owned company limited by shares. New tall buildings rose up, and every "villager" in the 21st century's modern community became a "shareholder".

40 years on, from a small fishing village to a metropolis

Cultural activity center at Luohu Yumin community. [Photo: Lu Chang/ China Plus]

Now walking through the tall residental buidings of Yumin "village", you can see various kinds of cultural activity centers: the seniors doing exercises on the community fitness equipment and children's laughter is prevalent.

Among the some four thousand residents living in the community, 95 percent of them are non-locals. It's obvious that the city's openness and hospitality not only lends itself to economic growth, but also makes people who immigrate there feel the warmth of home.

40 years on, from a small fishing village to a metropolis

Modern Luohu Yumin community. [Photo: Lu Chang/ China Plus]

Huang Xingyan is the deputy head of Shenzhen Yufeng Company Limited.

"After the latest urban redevelopment, we have guaranteed a 100% rate of local employment. We have a training center in the community. We have our own kindergaden, activities center, a day-time care center and a community based rehabilitation center for the seniors. The villagers can choose their suitable career in varied community services, and they also benefit from every aspect of this system."

Official figures show the average annual income per family of the village is over seven hundred thousand yuan, or nearly 110 thousand U.S dollars, almost four times as much as that of the country's average annual income per working family. 

Currently, Deng is working at the local neighborhood committee. He says he loves his job.

"The neighborhood committee mainly serve the residents here, despite some daily convenient services, we also hold many activities throughout the year. Last month we just held a big birthday party for a group of old people here. Instead of lying around in the home, I like working, which makes me happy."

Deng Jinhui has two children and three grandsons now. Enjoying a sweet and energetic life in his 60s, Deng says he still hopes the next generation can explore even more in the future.

"I hope the young people can consider more about the future development. They should forge ahead, otherwise life is stagnant. I hope my children, my grandchildren can go elsewhere to experience as many as they can. I learned from my peer's experience that a person should dare to change, and only change make progress."

Deng knows exactly that today's happy life comes from yesterday's sweat. And only by keep moving on can people earn a better tomorrow. 40 years has passed, he says he hopes the city keeps moving forward for the next forty years and beyond. 

Yangyong voices this report

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