CNN: Shenzhen's rise is astonishing

A feature program exploring the rise of China's Silicon Valley, Shenzhen, is being broadcast on U.S. media outlet CNN.

Shenzhen is known by many as China's Silicon Valley. Once a small and impoverished fishing village located in Guangdong Province, the city is now home to 12 million residents and is China's tech start-up hub.

In a program called "Innovate Shenzhen", CNN's reporter Matt Rivers shares what he saw as he walked down the streets and visited some tech start-ups in Shenzhen, where he got "wowed" several times.

Here's some places he visited:

Subway station

A screenshot photo captured from the CNN video [Screenshot: China Plus]

In Shenzhen, subway stations are equipped with facial recognition machines to enhance security check measures.

"When you walk into the subway here, they take a picture of your face… they take a picture of you every time you walk onto the subway," said Rivers.

Fruit store

A screenshot photo captured from the CNN video [Screenshot: China Plus]

China has about 566 million mobile phone users by this June, according to a report by China Internet Network Information Center. Almost every store down the street supports online payment services in Chinese cities, including Shenzhen.

"Every little store here that you can buy fruit, whatever you need, you go on your phone, you scan a QR code… and that's that!" River said.

Huaqiangbei

A screenshot photo captured from the CNN video [Screenshot: China Plus]

Located in Futian District, Huaqiangbei is a major electronics market where people can buy parts for almost any consumer electronics device.

The area used to have a bad reputation for selling counterfeit goods, but now things have changed, as the electronics hub continues to rise due to an increasing number of innovative technologies.

A screenshot photo captured from the CNN video [Screenshot: China Plus]

Also there, Rivers witnessed a man building a smartphone from scratch in a couple of hours with electronic parts bought at the Huaqiangbei market.

"This isn't just a market. It's a laboratory... There's nowhere else in the world quite like this place," said Rivers.

Reform and opening up

Matt Rivers stands in front of a painting of Deng Xiaoping, former Chinese leader who initiated reform and opening-up policies. [Screenshot: China Plus]

Rivers attributed the rapid growth of Shenzhen to China's reform and opening up policies.

"It was his (Deng Xiaoping's) idea to open up China to the rest of the world. He did that in part by creating special economic zones, which included Shenzhen… and that more than anything else helped create all these," said Rivers.

"Innovative Shenzhen" will air tonight at 6 p.m. on CNN International and Nov. 29 at 4:30 p.m., Beijing Time.