Shenzhen is not a city without a past — it is a city whose past was buried under skyscrapers. Ming garrison towns, Opium War forts, Hakka clan fortresses and the 1980 reform monuments still stand, often within sight of the glass towers that replaced them.
Administrative seat of the region for 1,700 years, founded as Dongguan Salt Commission in 331 AD and walled as Xin'an County in 1394. The south gate, Xin'an Magistrate's Yamen and Guandi Temple survive amid a dense urban village. Open 09:00–18:00, free entry.
The 1980s migrant-era eateries inside the ancient city walls serve Chaoshan beef hotpot, Hakka salt-baked chicken and Guangdong rice noodle rolls for ¥25–60. Many stalls are run by families who arrived in the first SEZ waves of 1981–1985.
China's largest surviving Hakka fortress-residence, built 1817–1834 by the Luo clan across 25,000 m² with defensive corner towers, 179 rooms and concentric courtyards. Open 09:00–17:30, closed Mondays; admission around ¥10.
Ming coastal garrison built in 1394 against Japanese pirates, later home of Lai Enjue, the admiral who defeated British ships off Kowloon in 1839. Original walls, four gates and Qing generals' mansions remain in a lived-in village.
The Civic Center's main historical museum covers ancient Bao'an, the Opium War coast, the anti-Japanese East River Column and the SEZ reform era with original documents from the 1980 State Council decree. Open 10:00–18:00, closed Mondays, free with passport.
Unveiled in 1984 outside the former municipal government, this bronze bull straining against a tree stump became the emblem of the reform era. The stump represents the old planned economy; every SEZ anniversary is marked here.
Shekou Industrial Zone, opened January 1979, was China's first market-economy experiment — a full year before the SEZ. The Minghua cruise ship, beached in 1984, anchors the square; the nearby Shekou Museum of Reform documents the 'Shekou model'.
The giant billboard portrait erected in 1992 after Deng's Southern Tour marks the moment reform was declared irreversible. Repainted several times; the slogan reads 'The Party's basic line must not waver for 100 years.'
A 300-year-old Hakka settlement of grey-brick lanes, ancestral halls and the Gankeng Watchtower, restored as a heritage district. Known for hand-carved 'Gankeng lanterns' and Hakka tea rituals. Open daily 09:00–22:00, free entry.
Once five farming villages, Baishizhou housed 140,000 migrants in handshake buildings and became the symbol of Shenzhen's migrant history. Large sections have been demolished since 2019; the surviving northern lanes still show the original village layout.
The 250-metre lane split by the 1898 Sino-British boundary stones — one side Shenzhen, the other Hong Kong. Eight original boundary markers survive. Entry requires a permit obtained in advance at the Shatoujiao permit office; bring your passport.
A late-Qing merchant street of arcaded shophouses and 15 fortified watchtowers built with overseas-Chinese remittances from Southeast Asia. The Chenyu watchtower and old bank buildings survive along the Guanlan River.