Futian District

Name

There are two arguments concerning the origin of the district's name:

History

Luohu District was established in April 1979, one month after Shenzhen was promoted to city status. Futian, and another area called Fucheng (附城), became communes within the Luohu District.

Futian became part of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone after it was designated in 1980. It then became a subdistrict under the district of Shangbu (上步).

Futian, along with Nanshan, was promoted to district status in October 1990. The Shangbu district, which had governed the Futian subdistrict the previous decade, became a part of the Futian district. The district government was established on Shennan Middle Road.

Rapid urbanization occurred in the late 20th century; the agricultural land which once made up a vast majority of Luohu had shrunk to an area of only 12.26 km² (4.73 sq mi) by 2003.

Economy

The Central Business District (CBD) of Shenzhen is a planned development project that began in the early 1990s. Located within the Futian district, it comprises an area of 607 hectares. The four sides of the district are delineated by Binhe Dadao, Lianhua Road, Xinzhou Road and Caitian Road.

Many office high-rises and government buildings are located in the CBD, some of which are prominent buildings in Shenzhen, such as the Shenzhen City Hall (Civic Centre), Shenzhen Library and Concert Hall, Shenzhen Development Bank building and the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. Located directly north of the CBD is Lianhuashan Park.

There are numerous skyscrapers in the CBD, including the SEG Tower, China Merchants Bank Tower, the twin towers of East Pacific Center, and the 600 m (1969 ft) Ping An Finance Centre, which is the second tallest building in China and the fourth tallest in the world.

Wal-Mart China has its headquarters in Towers 2 and 3 of SZITIC Square in Futian District.

The hotel chain Vienna Hotels formerly had its headquarters in Lüjing Garden, Futian District.

Shenzhen Metro

Futian is currently served by five metro lines operated by Shenzhen Metro. These lines and their stations and connections are:

Shopping centres

Central Walk Shopping Mall (中心城)

The mall is located at the Convention and Exhibition Center metro station and features three levels of shopping, entertainment and dining.

Coco Park (购物公园)

Coco Park is an upscale retail complex in Futian Central Business District. Aside from a shopping mall, it also features a popular street bar, large open public spaces and restaurants.

Huaqiangbei

Huaqiangbei is known for its electronics market, the largest of its kind in China. It also offers a variety of men's and women's fashions, shoes, bags and leather goods.

Education

There are now 83 schools delivering primary and secondary education holding 111,982 students and 11,503 teaching staff. Futian is also home to 140 kindergartens.

Secondary schools

International schools

QSI International School of Shenzhen previously had a campus in Honeylake, Futian District, adjacent to the Shenzhen Celebrities Club.

Higher education

Futian District is the location of the University of Hong Kong–Shenzhen Hospital, a municipally-funded public teaching hospital.

Immigration port of entry

One of the immigration control points that lies within Futian is known as the Futian Port. Its counterpart in Hong Kong is Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point, connected through a pedestrian bridge. The port is served by Futian Checkpoint Station on the Shenzhen Metro, itself being located within the port building.

Another immigration checkpoint is located 150 m east of Futian Port. This is the only one of the six immigration checkpoints between Shenzhen and Hong Kong that is open 24 hours. The crossing is highway-only and used mostly by trucks and busses, with the mainland and Hong Kong crossings being on opposite sides of a bridge over the Shenzhen River. Its counterpart in Hong Kong is Lok Ma Chau Control Point. It also marks the terminus of the G4 Beijing–Hong Kong–Macau Expressway.