Strebt man nicht nach dem Trend, sondern schafft man eher die "Trendmitte". Warum macht diese Stadt einen "süchtig"?
At the beginning of 2025, discussions about talent attraction, innovation atmosphere, and business environment were rife: Which city is the most attractive to young people? Which city should one choose for innovation and entrepreneurship? With these questions in mind, we consulted the current hottest large AI model, DeepSeek, which provided many reference indicators: abundant job opportunities, relatively high income levels, convenient and diverse living conditions, strong cultural inclusiveness, a vibrant innovation atmosphere, or policy support, industrial ecosystem, financing environment, talent pool, and living costs.
When it comes to specific cities, Shenzhen has never missed the mark. This pioneer city of reform and opening up has always been the most highly regarded city. In the ever - changing market environment and fierce urban competition, the current focus of public opinion is whether Shenzhen has been "pushed to the limit"?
However, when the first blast of the mountain - opening project in Shekou Industrial Zone rang out more than forty years ago, the "Shekou Spirit" of daring to be the first in the world had already developed the gene of innovation into the internal driving force of Shenzhen. In this whirlpool, Shenzhen neither blindly follows the trend nor stands still. Instead, with the sense of responsibility of "success may not be attributed to me, but I must contribute to it", it silently creates fertile ground for the growth of enterprises and individuals.
Wang Tao of DJI once said that Shenzhen has made us what we are today. Here, failure is tolerated, and innovation is encouraged. Wang Chuanfu of BYD once said that without Shenzhen, there would be no BYD. Ma Huateng of Tencent once said that if it weren't for Shenzhen, would Tencent be what it is today?...
In 2025, Unitree Robotics, one of the hottest robotics companies, chose to register a subsidiary in Nanshan. Its founder, Wang Xingxing, explained, "Every place has its own advantages." Industry insiders believe that Unitree Robotics' choice of Shenzhen as an expansion base allows it to fully utilize the local supply - chain resources and talent advantages, accelerating the product R & D and market promotion process.
At the same time, Douyin chose to set up a presence in Qianhai with a registered capital of 2 billion yuan. Xu Tao, a 60 - year - old alumnus of Hunan University, has been entrepreneurial in Shenzhen for more than a decade and now has his first listed company, SUNGROW POWER SUPPLY CO., LTD. Zhuji Dynamics, founded in 2022, and Zhipingfang, founded in 2023, completed Series A+ and Pre - Series A+ financing respectively, both raising hundreds of millions of yuan within half a year...
"It doesn't promise me success, but it gives me endless possibilities." Li Lini, an ordinary worker, also has a personal experience of this after returning to Shenzhen. She left Shenzhen 17 months ago and chose to go home. In late February this year, she stepped back into Shenzhen to seek future development opportunities.
Perhaps just as young people don't want to be "kidnapped" by the trending list and labeled with various tags like "staying up late", "health preservation", "lying flat", and "involution", for the city of Shenzhen, the online tags don't matter. What matters is that it enables enterprises and individuals to find real feelings and true value in reality.
Planting the "Wutong Trees"
Choosing a city is like making an investment, betting on one's youth and future. On the scale of young talents' choices, living costs and career opportunities are like the weights at both ends.
Yan Dong, who is about to graduate from Jiangxi University this year, took a high - speed train to Shenzhen at the end of March. He summarized this trip with a smile: "Going to Shenzhen with just 100 yuan." According to his plan, he would arrive at Shenzhen North Station at noon, go to a pre - arranged job interview in the afternoon, and head to a youth hostel in Nanshan at night. He has several interviews lined up for the coming days. "I hope to find my ideal job within half a month."
This half - month time plan stems from the latest policy released by Shenzhen Nanshan. Among them, there is a policy that is most beneficial to him during the job - hunting transition period: fresh college graduates can enjoy 15 days of free rent. Yan Dong knew during his college days that fresh graduates coming to Shenzhen for job - hunting would have free - rent hostels as a transitional support. "Previously, this period was only 7 days. Now, the extended time is the biggest gift for me."
Meanwhile, Yan Dong opened WeChat and shared that his girlfriend, who is doing an internship in Shenzhen, had received a 520 - yuan "Discover Nanshan" experience voucher. It includes consumption vouchers of three denominations (100 - yuan vouchers with a 50 - yuan discount, 50 - yuan vouchers with a 25 - yuan discount, and 20 - yuan vouchers with a 10 - yuan discount) totaling 460 yuan, and a 60 - yuan transportation red envelope that can be directly deducted.
Providing free accommodation for graduates looking for jobs in other cities has become a policy implemented in many cities. A survey by China Youth Daily showed that 91.6% of the surveyed graduates hoped that the short - term free accommodation policy would be promoted in more cities. Shenzhen was the first in the country to initiate and implement this policy favored by graduates for 12 years. This is a successful experience proven by repeated practice, and Shenzhen has chosen to step up its efforts. In late February this year, Shenzhen announced that the original 7 - day period would be extended to 15 days.
It can be said that Shenzhen has always shown great sincerity. At the same time, it has been using the "dual - zone characteristics" to reduce the living costs of young people and provide career opportunities. What Yan Dong and his girlfriend are enjoying is the "Six - One Initiative" recently released by Nanshan, which is also one of Shenzhen's wise moves to skillfully balance the "cost and opportunity" scale.
The "Six - One Initiative" refers to the "Six - One Action Plan to Support Innovation and Entrepreneurship" released by Nanshan District. According to the plan, Nanshan will implement the "One - Person Policy", including the "Discover Nanshan" action for college students, the support action for newly recruited college graduates, and the support action for key industrial talents. It will implement the "One - Room Policy", including the 15 - day free - rent housing security action for fresh college graduates and the housing support action for young innovation and entrepreneurship talents. It will implement the "One - Desk Policy", including the support action for AI innovation teams, the support action for incubation spaces, and the support action for industrial spaces. It will implement the "One - Sum - of - Money Policy", including the support action for young leading entrepreneurship teams, the action of investing in early - stage, small - scale, and technology - driven projects, the joint cultivation action, the 100 - billion financing action, and the support action for venture capital institutions. It will implement the "One - Scenario Policy", including the support action for opening up application scenarios. It will implement the "One - Stop - Service Policy", including the "package" service action for start - up enterprises.
By cultivating fertile ground and building nests to attract phoenixes, Shenzhen has become the most favored city for young people. According to the "Ranking of Chinese Cities in Attracting Post - 1995 Talents: 2024" report jointly released by Zhaopin and Ze Ping Macro, Shenzhen has ranked first for two consecutive years. Moreover, it is also the city chosen by the most people. According to the officially announced permanent population data at the end of 2024 across the country, Shenzhen ranked first in the country with an increase of 199,400 people.
With its strong economic vitality, superior policy support, good quality of life, and rich cultural atmosphere, Shenzhen has become a stage for most people to learn, gain experience, and focus on exploring future career opportunities. This is the most real feeling for everyone who comes to Shenzhen.
The Solver of Urban Dilemmas
In the current "talent war", transitional policies have become a basic requirement. The question worth noting is: Where are the career opportunities?
McKinsey once released a survey. Among the surveyed post - 2000 job seekers, 30% of them prioritize the employment city when choosing a job. Among the core factors determining the ideal city, only 34% of them consider favorable talent policies. Options such as convenient transportation, dynamic economic development, sufficient job opportunities, and a superior living environment rank higher.
Shang Shiyu, who has been entrepreneurial in the fields of cross - border business and overseas asset management for more than a decade, carefully considered before finally choosing to come to Shenzhen. In addition to its geographical proximity to Hong Kong, which is conducive to connecting with the global supply chain and capital and expanding overseas markets, and the government's various policies to lower the threshold and cost of entrepreneurship for enterprises, the atmosphere here is even more important. "Shenzhen has the highest entrepreneurship density in the country. The strong atmosphere allows me to quickly integrate and find like - minded partners."
Zhang Xue, who has many years of work experience in a large company in Shenzhen, returned to a provincial capital city in Central China in 2020. However, half a year ago, she started a business in Shenzhen again. "There are some people and things that can only be encountered here. Only here can I find the most suitable industry opportunities for me."
However, as the world is constantly changing, how to transform short - term opportunities into long - term development has become a dilemma for every entrepreneur. Instead of being attached to the past and standing still, daring to innovate and reshaping strength and positioning may be the only way to solve the problem.
The year Zhang Xue returned to Central China, Xiang Xiaoxiao, who chose to start a business in the self - media field, came to Shenzhen. "At the beginning, my business direction was teaching overseas Douyin operations. It was a hot trend at that time, and I made a quick fortune. However, this model didn't have high - value customers or high repurchase rates. I had to constantly think about how to create traffic, and I was quite anxious at that time."
As peers began to imitate, Xiang Xiaoxiao also tried to transform. In 2024, she established the company's business model: helping central and state - owned enterprises and industrial parks with new media transformation and introducing industrial projects to them through Internet connections. "Shenzhen has enough innovation and technological achievements, and only in Shenzhen can I access these core resources in a short time. Shenzhen allows different business models to exist."
Breaking the traditional model is not only the magic weapon for Xiang Xiaoxiao to break through the dilemma but also the change that Shenzhen, as a city, is willing to make for those who strive.
Shenzhen has never been afraid to be the "first to eat the crab". On this land, it was the first to break the "egalitarian" wage system, the first to establish a joint - stock bank, and the first to set up a joint - stock insurance company... According to incomplete statistics, since its establishment, Shenzhen has created more than 1,000 "national firsts".
The opening of the "One - Scenario" in Nanshan's "Six - One Initiative" allows enterprises like Pony.ai to conduct scenario - based applications in the central urban area, providing rich data guidance for algorithm and model optimization. "In China, most of the scenarios for L4 and above unmanned vehicles are in relatively remote urban areas. Shenzhen's courage to open up the central urban area shows its determination and confidence." Huang Kailin, the deputy general manager of Pony.ai's Shenzhen R & D Center, said that AI needs these open scenarios.
After the pandemic, the unexpected changes in the international and domestic situations have brought about profound and complex changes in the innovation and entrepreneurship environment. Both enterprises and individuals are facing development dilemmas. The saying "Don't be afraid of the second - generation rich relying on their parents, but be afraid of them starting a business" has even become a popular catchphrase. In fact, the core change is that the resources that enterprises or individuals can access have changed dramatically. Especially in the initial stage, they may lack connections, resources, and funds, or their business models may be limited by experience and cognition.
The "X - Day" Xilihu Roadshow Club, an important part of the "One - Sum - of - Money" in the "Six - One Initiative", is an exploration to address the innovation and entrepreneurship dilemmas. This project establishes a connection channel between capital, technology, and industry from the perspective of equity financing. Through the linkage of "investment, loan, and insurance" and the integration of online and offline diversified services, it provides intelligent, integrated, and customized comprehensive technology - finance service solutions for enterprises. In addition, through the linkage of experts, the project "diagnoses" projects from multiple dimensions such as technical barriers, commercialization paths, and capital valuation.
"The 'One - Sum - of - Money' comprehensively helps us solve practical pain points. After 7 years of entrepreneurship, from running around everywhere to having centralized exchanges, 'X - Day' is a great 'dating platform' that provides an accelerator and impetus for enterprises." Peng Junxi, the CEO of Weixing Space, said when participating in an event in early April.
In addition, there is a highly breakthrough exploration hidden in Nanshan's "Six - One Initiative": A strategic direct - investment special seed fund and an angel fund with a total scale of 500 million yuan will be established to provide leading investment support for start - up enterprises in strategic emerging industries and future industries that are key to the district's support and development, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, biomedicine, and low - altitude economy. A single project within the fund is allowed to have a maximum loss rate of 100%.
This is a key indicator in the venture capital field and a vivid portrayal of Nanshan and even the whole of Shenzhen's in - depth cultivation of the innovation and entrepreneurship fertile ground. Looking across the country, few state - owned assets in other regions allow such a high tolerance for losses, which shows Shenzhen's bold breakthrough under the current demand for scientific and technological innovation and industrial development.
To this day, Shenzhen is still the "wave - rider" standing bravely at the forefront of the tide. The "Shekou Spirit" of "daring to explore and experiment" influences everyone on this land. This spirit not only enables many enterprises and individuals to find endless possibilities and achieve their high - light moments in Shenzhen but also makes Shenzhen a veritable solver of urban dilemmas.
Countless Possibilities of Chinese - Style Struggle
"When I first came to Shenzhen, my salary was only 4,500 yuan. Five years have passed, and now it's 16,000 yuan." Han Zhimin, who came to Shenzhen in a muddle - headed way in 2019, said, "With a junior college degree, I don't have an advantage in society. I never thought of going to a first - tier city before graduation. But less than a week after getting my diploma, I decided to drag my suitcase to Shenzhen."
At first, she didn't think Shenzhen was her "dream city", but her subsequent experiences brought her many rewards. She had leaders who were willing to share their experiences. More importantly, there was an industrial exchange environment, a talent cultivation system, and an inclusive market. "There are many opportunities." She has seen people quitting big companies to sell fast food, junior high school graduates becoming bosses in the cross - border e - commerce field, and simple communication needs developing into entrepreneurial projects... "As long as you execute efficiently, dare to innovate, know how to utilize resources, and keep learning, you will definitely have a chance to succeed."
Ten years ago, Ma Junde, an overseas returnee who came to Shenzhen to start a business with only a few thousand yuan, may have a deeper feeling. "Shenzhen has endless possibilities. Different from the wealth opportunities brought by the cultural heritage of other cities, Shenzhen provides a more equal platform for more grass - roots entrepreneurs."
Ma Junde founded Gonglian Technology. In 2020, the company explored a flexible gig - economy platform. This model was not as smoothly promoted and implemented across the country as it was in Shenzhen. "No matter what industry you are developing, from large - scale policy support to small - scale company registration, operation, and settlement, Shenzhen's efficiency ranks among the top." In his opinion, Shenzhen not only provides basic entrepreneurial guarantees but also its inclusiveness and equality allow them to rise rapidly and accumulate various resources.
Now, Gonglian Technology has developed into an enterprise focusing on school - enterprise cooperation and investment. "In Shenzhen, as long as you have ideas and are willing to work hard, you never have to worry about having no opportunities." Ma Junde said.
"As long as there is a demand, Shenzhen can quickly organize resources such as talent, funds, technology, and supply chain to respond to the market." Zhu Ruiyong, the founder of Yuekeang Brand, said. In 2019, after graduating from Sun Yat - sen University, he came to Shenzhen and entered the brand consulting industry. In 2023, he founded Yuekeang in Hainan and entered the sports nutrition supplement field.
"Shenzhen has allowed me to come into contact with enterprises in different fields and at different development stages, expanding my business vision, building my knowledge system for business implementation, and accumulating various ecological resources." Zhu Ruiyong said. He returned to Hainan to seize the opportunities of the free trade port, restarting his journey with the experience, thinking, and resource circle he gained in Shenzhen in a different way.
In fact, Shenzhen not only provides fertile ground for growth but also brings nutrients for accelerated growth.