Shenzhen in the reform era : narratives of past, future, and present

Abstract

China welcomed the 40th anniversary of the launching of the Reform and Opening Policy in 2018, with the officials frequently citing the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone to prove China “has developed out of nothing” over the Reform Era. Many scholars examine the identities of Shenzhen regarding its several stages of development and its economic “miracle”, but rarely do scholars explore the narrative about time that underlie Shenzhen’s identities. Therefore, this research explores the narratives of Shenzhen in the terms of temporalities of past, future, and present. Through close reading of selected cultural texts of literature, cinema, exhibition, architecture, and other, this research first aims to review how the discourse of the Reform Era shapes the representation of past Shenzhen and future Shenzhen. The second chapter looks at the narratives of “Shenzhen in the Pre-reform Era” and how the memories of “escape to Hong Kong” legitimize the economic reform. The third chapter examines the narratives of the “City of Future” and how the urbanscape of Shenzhen illustrates its development strategy. Furthermore, this research explores “the present state” of “Shenzhen in the Reform Era,” which is usually presented as the migrant worker’s physical perception of time in literature and cinemas. Faced with the ruin of bodies and the loss of home, many younger-generation migrant workers choose a passive rebellion that negates their desire, labour, and social identity. This counter-narrative against the official discourse might develop into a cultural identity with political significance in the context of depoliticization in China and elsewhere today.