Shenzhen has been known as both “Zhen” and “Yong” in the past, as noted by historical place-name documents from 1410.
Shenzhen, as a special economic zone, has a history of only 40 years, but as early as the mid-Neolithic Age, there were already traces of human settlements.
During the modern period, the Qing government signed various unequal treaties with Britain, resulting in the leasing of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories to Britain. It was from then on that Shenzhen and Hong Kong became divided.
Around the time of the Reform and Opening Up, the Central Government and Guangdong Province changed the name of Bao’an County to Shenzhen City, and then changed the status of Shenzhen City to a provincial city at the regional level. 26th August, 1980 is regarded as “Shenzhen’s birthday”, as that is the date when the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress approved the establishment of a special economic zone in Shenzhen.