Shenzhen: China’s Most Futuristic City

People say the future does not exist yet, but after spending a few days in this city, I'm not so sure anymore. This is Shenzhen, China. A place where technology blends into everyday life and the line between present and future starts to blur. I came here expecting another giant Chinese city, but within a few hours something felt different. Wow! Believe it or not, some 45 years ago this was a fishing village. Today it's a megacity of 17 million people in one of the most advanced cities in the world. Drones delivering food, police drones patrolling the sky. I mean, what else they got? Let's find out in this video. So how did this place move so far ahead so fast? Everything changed in 1980. Under Deng Xiaoping, Shenzhen became China's first special economic zone, a bold experiment in a country that was still tightly controlled. With lower taxes and fewer regulations, it became a place where new ideas could be tested. If something worked here, it could be scaled across the rest of the country. Shenzhen had two huge advantages. First, it sat right next to Hong Kong, a global financial powerhouse bringing in money, talent and expertise. Second, it was basically a blank slate. No legacy systems, no old infrastructure to work around. Just space to build a modern city from scratch. That morning, I didn't wake up to an alarm clock. I woke up to a robot delivering breakfast to my hotel room. I wasn't expecting that. And honestly, it set the tone for the rest of the day. This is Futian, the heart of Shenzhen. Glass towers, vast public spaces. And at the center of it all, the Civic Center, a broad open structure that almost feels like a gateway between the business district and the park beyond. Wide, symmetrical, built on a scale that makes you feel small. And just behind it, Lianhuoshan Park, a huge green space where people come to walk, exercise, flight kites, dance, or just take a break from the city. Make your way to the top and you get one of the best views of Shenzhen skyline. With Dan Xiaoping overlooking it all, probably thinking I had a feeling this would work. One building immediately stands out, the Pinan Finance Center. At nearly 600 meters tall, it's one of the tallest buildings in the world. And despite all that scale, congestion stays surprisingly low. Futian runs on what locals call a traffic brain, a system that adjusts traffic in real time to keep everything moving. The whole district feels designed for people, not just cars. Less road space, more room to walk. But nothing shows it better than the metro. In 2004, Shenzhen barely had a single line. Today, it has over 500 stations. Fast, efficient, to the point where owning a car can feel optional. Even the metro car is a climate zone. Cooler or warmer, your choice. And then you get stations like Ganjiang North, and wow. Sleek, multi-level, almost sci-fi. I was exploring Shenzhen with a local friend, Hiromi, and we started with something very simple, ordering food. I'm a little bit hungry. Is there anything we can do here? Definitely. We're in Shenzhen, so don't worry about it. Let's get a drone to get us some food. A drone? Yeah. Getting us some food? Yes. Are you serious? Yeah, we just scanned the QR code, and we have options like sushi, milk tea, like from Chaji, you know. What would you like? You know, back in the day, people used to look up to the sky, asking God for some food. Now I'm looking up at the sky. Where's my food? There's my food. Okay. Alright, so here is your mana coffee. Wow. Now let's see. So yeah, this is how we get coffee delivered to us, the drone delivery. The Shenzhen way. Wow, it seems like we're going in a driverless car. I also tried something that I've never done before, a fully driverless car. No driver, no hands on the wheel. So guys, the real bonus about this car, okay, of course there's no driver, so you can relax, you know, sing your songs, no one's judging you. At first it feels weird. You're watching the road, waiting for something to go wrong, but it doesn't, and that's when the bigger idea clicks. If you don't need a person behind the wheel anymore, what happens when the car doesn't need the road either? Yeah, it still looks like a prototype, but honestly they already experimented with drone flights, short distance, Shenzhen to Guangzhou, so maybe this is the near future. That's when you realize automation is everywhere. Robots brewing coffee, machines cleaning the streets, forgot your wallet? Doesn't matter. Most payments happen through your phone anyway, and in some places with a palm scan or facial recognition. Even something as simple as exercising at the park comes with data, sensors, and the QR code, and it's pretty informative. I'm going at 16 kilometers an hour right now, gives you the distance that I've covered, and the best part is all of this is free at a public park, powered by solar panels. One of the biggest shifts here is something you barely notice at first. Shenzhen is surprisingly quiet. Why? Because almost the entire city runs electric. 16,000 buses, all electric. 21,000 taxis, all electric. Over 1,000 ultra-fast charging stations, and 410,000 charging piles across the city. By now it doesn't even feel like an experiment anymore, it's just how the city works. One thing you'll notice fast is how controlled everything feels. Shenzhen, like most of China, is packed with surveillance cameras. Now, people definitely have thoughts on that, but on a practical level, the city feels incredibly safe. Even late at night, even for a girl walking alone, there's zero tension. If you've spent time in major US or European cities, you're gonna notice the difference right away. Then you hit Huaqiangbei. It looks like the biggest electronics market on earth, which it is, but it's so much more than that. Most people, when they hear about Huaqiangbei, think it's just a huge market full of fake goods, and that reputation stuck from the early 2000s. But honestly, that's not what makes this market special today. The real story is accessibility. If you're building anything with electronics, this place is your paradise. This is one of the most important hardware markets in the world. It's where engineers and makers come to actually build things. You've got floors upon floors packed with every component imaginable. Wires, microchips, sensors, drone parts, literally anything. This isn't just a market, it's a toolbox the size of a city. The real secret weapon here, though, is speed. In most cities, building a prototype takes weeks of shipping and waiting. Here, you can literally walk in with a sketch and walk out with a working gadget by dinnertime. Now, if Fujian is the political and financial center of Shenzhen, then Nanshan is its tech heart. Many of the city's biggest tech companies are based here, within just a few kilometers of each other. I checked out DJI SkyCity, a futuristic campus where drones aren't just designed, they're tested at scale. This building is called SkyCity, and this is the headquarters of DJI. It was founded here in Shenzhen in 2006 by a young engineering student, Frank Wang. Two decades later, this company dominates the drone market. Roughly 70% of all camera drones sold throughout the world come from this company. And I'm a big fan of DJI, and I use a lot of their products, gimbals and drones. I'm pretty excited to be here. Hello, everyone. My name is Xavier, and I'm from DJI Overseas Air Operations. Do you think DJI is a good company to work for? Sure. Yeah, it is. Do you like working here? How long have you worked here? How many years? To be honest, I joined DJI one month ago. So I can't give you so many kind of information for you, but I think maybe in the future I can give you more information about DJI. My name is Xavier. Xavier, thank you. Then, a short drive away, I visited Tencent Seafront Tower. Tencent is the company behind WeChat, the app that people use here for messaging, payments, services, basically everyday life. A friend invited me to a meetup there about AI agents. Shenzhen is a young city, and there is a lot of young people here, and people have a spire of innovation. And also the government gives a lot of subsidy here and gives a lot of chances for young people to create something new. Shenzhen doesn't just feel young. It is young. The average age here is just 32 and a half years. And if AI agents still sound vague, think of them like this. Instead of doing tasks one by one, replying to emails, booking things, organizing your day, you have a digital assistant that handles them for you. I do some workflows to simplify my work, especially in the data analysis, and also some design. I even got a quick tour of the campus, and the whole place feels like a vertical city. Gyms, sports courts, climbing walls, even running paths built right into the campus. It's not your average workplace. It's built to keep people there and keep ideas moving. So you guys are busy working. Now, when do you find time to play basketball? We would play basketball in our resting time. We have rest from 12 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oh, you got a break for two hours. Yes, for two hours. So we also have a break in the afternoon, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. We have two breaks. So you get off work what time? 8 p.m. But what time do you start? 10 p.m. Oh, okay. So you start a little later. Okay. Now, I've heard people describe Shenzhen as a business city with no soul, but honestly, it doesn't feel like that at all. You know, something that struck me is people talk about technology when it comes to Shenzhen, but we've been traveling today, and I've seen how green the city is. Definitely. I remember seeing one TikTok post once. It was about Shenzhen, and somebody took a video from one high area showing all the infrastructures, and people are in the comments section saying, where are the trees? Where are the trees? I can assure you, we have trees, okay? I think Shenzhen might be the city with the most number of parks in China. I'm glad they had that vision because the city is, what, 45 years old? That they had that vision to not only build skyscrapers and infrastructure, but also the green areas. Definitely. Does that make your life so much more comfortable? Yeah, it does. You wouldn't just feel like, oh, work, work, work, work, since all the building. It's like, oh, now I'm sitting with nature while enjoying what we have built. Nanshan isn't just about work. It's where the city breathes. We were sitting in Shenzhen Talent Park, right on the waterfront of Shenzhen Bay. People jogging, stretching, lying on the grass, with glass towers rising quietly behind them. Even the small details stand out. Many of the trees have QR codes, so you can scan them and learn exactly what they are. Right next to the park is Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, a massive new development opened in 2025. Locals nicknamed these buildings the Airpods because of their curved, wide shape. Delivery drones regularly humming overhead, carrying snacks and drinks from nearby shopping malls to pick up kiosks right in the park. Oh, wow. Crazy technology we got these days, right? Small world. What's up? What brings you here? Well, I have wanted to come to Shenzhen to see the amazing technology that they have here, like drone delivery. I believe we have one coming in right now. And yeah, just see any part of China. Okay. Do you find this anywhere else in the world? Not so far. No. Yeah, not that I know of. No. I still have to find those police drones. Yes, yes. Well, actually, the other day, I saw like a robot monitoring, you know, safety going on. So they do have like... He talks to people too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you're doing something wrong, it'll tell you. So they definitely... Yeah. Awesome. What's been the biggest highlight of the trip? Driverless car. Awesome. Yeah, I did that a few days ago. It was really cool. Pony? Yes. Pony. Okay, I still have to do that. Yes, definitely. It was great to see you. Great to meet you. Public space, shopping, culture, all flowing together. Inside, I noticed something else, a 3D printing studio, where kids were watching objects appear layer by layer. She asked me what's so high tech about Shenzhen. Well, this is one of those things, 3D printers. Now, 3D printers exist everywhere, but this is a local company, Bamboo Labs, and they kind of revolutionized the 3D printing market. So here we're at one of their flagship stores, and everything you see here in this store is 3D printed. And actually, they're printing right now. This thing is another example. It's just printed in one piece. So usually, you would have to have several pieces, bolts and nuts and everything. But this is like one movable thing. It's super cool. 3D printed. Banana car. Who doesn't like a banana car? I don't know. Banana car. And it runs. I don't know who doesn't. What a wonderful background, man. What's your name? Beautiful hair. My name is Kim. Where do you come from? Norway. People think Korea, but actually, it's Norway, yeah. Burangoda. So what are some of the modern technologies that you use every day? Yeah, so we're here in China, right? So we have to use some certain Chinese apps, and we use them for everything. For travel, whether it's a metro or taxi, buying groceries, ordering at a cafe. Yeah, literally everything. Access to an apartment, whatever. But other like very modern things, you can't really use here unless you got, I guess, like a local phone number and stuff. So for instance, facial recognition. Yeah, not so much for me, but I do see locals, you said. You don't even have to carry a wallet anymore. That's true. Actually, if you do carry a wallet, people will look at you kind of strangely. And the weirdest paradox is that, you know, the street sellers everywhere in the world, those are the people who usually can't afford, you know, like the credit terminal or whatever. But here, you just need a QR code, so everybody can get like, you know, A4 printed, a QR code. So all the street sellers here will have the QR codes. So what's the best thing about Shenzhen? It's such a big place. So it's got, you know, it's got more metros than New York. It's got more high rises than anywhere in the world. It's the electronics capital of the world right here. It's got gorgeous nature. It's got islands. It's got, you know, very modern infrastructure. You could pretty much find anything here. Like even things that, you know, you definitely think you wouldn't find here. Like ski resorts, but that are indoors or, you know, whatever, like crazy stuff. Even that stuff? Yes. Amazing. Well, you chose a great place to be in. Moving through Nanshan itself is effortless. You can travel underground, at street level or above the city on walkways. Rain, heat, humidity, it doesn't really matter. The city just keeps flowing. Even something as simple as a car dealership feels different here. This is a city where EVs don't just exist. They dominate. Take the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra. It's a $73,000 machine that's out here hunting hypercars, beating half million dollar Ferraris and drag races. And yeah, it's made by the same brand that probably made your smartphone. We stepped outside and noticed the police drones overhead. They monitor traffic and are sometimes used in the parks. Later, I ended up having dinner with Kim. He's vegan, which has nothing to do with Shenzhen being futuristic, but the restaurant was so good, it felt worth mentioning. It's magic, guys. It's magic. You hear the bubbles? Yeah. Well, we're at this vegan slash vegetarian, I'm not sure which one, restaurant, but I had no idea it would be so good. This is tofu. And some kind of mushrooms. So delicious. It's perfect. So good. Do you remember the name for them? It's Lion Mane's Mushroom. Lion Mane. It's like a... Lion Mane restaurant. It kind of looks like it. And as you move further along the coastline, the atmosphere starts to change. Shekou feels more relaxed, more international. Areas like SeaWorld are a magnet for expats, especially at night when the old Minhua ship lights up for the water show. I asked Haromi what's it like living in Shenzhen and how living in a city like this shapes the way you think. If you're in the city where competition is this high, like Shenzhen is a city of 22 million people, you definitely want to be ahead of people and stand out, isn't it? Or else the competition here is crazy. I would objectively say Shenzhen is not a city for living, but it is a city for innovation and just being the best of the best. Rencai. That's why you have these talent parks. It's called Rencai. And we'll be doing something very exciting now. Yep. At least for me. We're still waiting for this driverless taxi. Yeah. Yeah, but 2.5 kilometers, it's getting closer. Yeah. It's gonna be here soon. You can't really get mad at the driver because there is no driver. Okay, that's really, really good. That's actually really good. You can't get mad at anybody because there's nobody. To reach the next district, we called another Pony AI self-driving taxi. It's still limited to certain areas, but watching the wheel move on its own never gets boring. It dropped us at K11 E Coast, a sleek waterfront space with cafes, terraces, and views stretching all the way to Hong Kong. It's walkable, comfortable, and feels far from the typical business city image. But that lifestyle comes at a price. A two-bedroom apartment here can cost around $1.1 to $1.7 million to buy, or $2,000 to $4,000 per month to rent. Further west, you start to see the city's next phase. Qianhai is where Shenzhen is still being built, almost in real time. Wide promenades, clean design, everything feels new. It's the kind of place where you'll see families hanging out and kids playing with patrol robots. While autonomous machines quietly scrub the streets and robot cafes whip up lattes without a human in sight. Now, Qianhai only started taking shape about a decade ago, so everything you see around here is brand new. You know, this is actually my third time in Shenzhen. First time 2012, then 2018, and now 2026. And you know what? I can barely recognize the city because there's so much new stuff. The city keeps reinventing itself. All these new areas appear like Qianhai, where we are right now. So wonderful. Shenzhen has this reputation of being all about business. Fast, intense, no breaks, right? But I think it's got a perfect combination of technology and the work ethic, and also the green areas, where you can just take a break and, like this kid, run around, have a good time. So I think it's a perfect balance. Wait a minute, get out of the way. If he doesn't leave, you'll have to stand where you are. Come forward, stand in the front. Do you want your nails nailed? Yes. Very good. But not everything in Shenzhen is polished and advanced. OCT Loft is where the city finally takes a breath. Forget the glass towers and perfect symmetry. This is a form-factory district turned into creative space. It's rough, a bit imperfect, and that's exactly why it works. In the 1980s, this was one of the industrial zones in the city. They manufactured electronics here. But in the early 2000s, they transformed it into a creative district. And this is what we see today. After all the precision and efficiency of the city, this part feels human. You move from one courtyard to the next, finding small galleries, concept stores, and hidden cafes along the way. If you happen to be here in October, you might catch the OCT Loft Jazz Festival. And then you step into places like Nantou Ancient Town. Narrow streets, low-rise buildings, layers of history packed into every corner. I know what you're thinking. Didn't I just say the city is only 45 years old? Yes, but before that it was a collection of villages. It feels almost out of place here, like a fragment of another time that somehow survived all this growth. You walk past small shops, old doorways, locals going about their day. Everything feels slower here. But not completely. Every now and then you'll see something unexpected. Like motorbikes riding up stairways to reach bridges. Even when they're clearly not supposed to. It's a bit chaotic. A bit funny. And a bit dangerous. And if you need a break from all of that, and you want a truly local experience, hit a giant spa like Queen Spa. This place is a 24-hour relaxation factory. For about $26 you get access to a huge complex. Jacuzzis, lounges, game rooms, a cinema, and a pool. Plus all the fruit and drinks you can handle. You see rows of people crashed out everywhere, like a surprisingly comfortable airport lounge. You can grab a foot massage while watching a movie, sipping a smoothie, and completely lose track of time. And yeah, no filming in the jacuzzi zones, obviously. Honestly, some people skip the hotel and just sleep here. It's the ultimate Shenzhen contrast. Work like a robot, then disappear into a massive spa for a weekend. And that contrast says a lot about Shenzhen. In just a few decades it went from a quiet town to one of the most advanced cities on earth. Not by accident, by design. This place was built to experiment. One of the best places to understand that is the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning. Inside you can trace the city's evolution step by step. From simple manufacturing to heavy industry, and from there to drones, robotics, and AI. Now that experiment is paying off. Today Shenzhen leads all mainland Chinese cities in exports. A position it has held for more than 30 years. And more than that, it feels like a preview of what comes next. So let me ask you. What's the most futuristic city in the world today? Is it Shenzhen? Is it Tokyo? Singapore? New York? Or something else? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for watching this video guys. Subscribe to the channel. I'll have more videos coming out soon.