Shenzhen is the San Jose of China

San Jose, CA

San Jose (including the rest of Silicon Valley) is considered to be a Gamma+ Global City.  It has the headquarters of many high-tech companies including Adobe, Apple, Cisco, eBay, Facebook, Google, HP, Intel, and Yahoo.  Santa Clara County has a population of about 1.8 million and a GDP of about $170 bn/year, and is growing more than 10%/year. It is one of the wealthiest areas in the US.

NASDAQ is a stock exchange located in New York City, but most of the largest stocks (e.g. Apple) in it are headquartered in Silicon Valley.  To make this comparison work, I have to pretend that NASDAQ is located in San Jose.  It would also help to pretend that there are a few more skyscrapers there.



Shenzhen neighbors Hong Kong and has a population of 3.5 million in its urban area and 10.3 million in its metropolitan area, with a GDP of about $180 bn/year (in the metro area).  It is considered to be a Beta- Global City, one level above San Jose.  "Being southern mainland China's major financial centre, Shenzhen is home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous high-tech companies. Shenzhen is also one of the busiest container ports in China."  "Shenzhen is in the top ranks among mainland Chinese cities in terms of comprehensive economic power. It ranked fourth in GDP among mainland Chinese cities in 2001, while it ranked the top in GDP per capita during the same period. Its import and export volumes have been first for the last nine consecutive years.".

The Kingkey 100 is the tallest building in Shenzhen with a height of 439m, similar to the Willis Tower in Chicago (442m).  The Ping An Finance Center, at a height of 660m (including spire), is expected to be completed in 2016, and will be the second-tallest building in the world after the Burj Khalifa.