Shenzhen City

Shenzhen is the second largest city in Guangdong province, a regional manufacturing and financial hub and one of the richest cities in China. The city, originally a village north of Hong Kong, was first developed as a special economic zone when economic reforms were introduced in the late 1970s. After over 30 years of sprawling, it has become one of China's top four first-tier cities along with Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. With a population of over 10 million, the city's GDP grew 10.7% to ¥951 billion ($150.9 billion) in 2010. The Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, one of the only two on the mainland, focuses on small and midsized companies as compared to Shanghai's where larger state-owned companies are traded.