Shenzhen North

Changsha South

Shenzhen (; Chinese: 深圳; Mandarin pronunciation: [ʂə́n.ʈʂə̂n] ) is a major city in the Chinese province of Guangdong; it forms part of the Pearl River Delta megalopolis, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Huizhou to the northeast, and Dongguan to the northwest. It holds sub-provincial administrative status, with powers slightly less than those of a province. Shenzhen's cityscape results from its vibrant economy - made possible by rapid foreign investment following the institution of the policy of "reform and opening-up" in 1979. The city is a leading global technology hub, dubbed by media as the next Silicon Valley and China's Silicon Valley. It was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world in the 1990s and the 2000s, and has been ranked second on the list "top 10 cities to visit in 2019" by Lonely Planet.Shenzhen, which roughly follows the administrative boundaries of Bao'an County, officially became a city in 1979, taking its name from the former county town, whose train station was the last stop on the Mainland Chinese section of the railway between Canton and Kowloon. In 1980, Shenzhen was established as China's first special economic zone. Shenzhen's registered population as of 2017 was estimated at 12,905,000. However, local police and authorities estimate the actual population to be about 20 million, due to large populations of short-term residents, unregistered floating migrants, part-time residents, commuters, visitors, as well as other temporary residents.Shenzhen hosts the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous multinational companies such as JXD, Vanke, Hytera, CIMC, SF Express, Shenzhen Airlines, Nepstar, Hasee, Ping An Bank, Ping An Insurance, China Merchants Bank, Tencent, ZTE, Huawei, DJI and BYD. Shenzhen ranks 14th in the 2019 Global Financial Centres Index. It has one of the busiest container ports in the world.

Changsha is the capital and most populous city of Hunan province in the south central part of the People's Republic of China. It covers 11,819 km2 (4,563 sq mi) and is bordered by Yueyang and Yiyang to the north, Loudi to the west, Xiangtan and Zhuzhou to the south, Yichun and Pingxiang of Jiangxi province to the east. According to the 2010 census, Changsha has 7,044,118 residents, constituting 10.72% of the province's population. It is part of the Chang-Zhu-Tan city cluster or megalopolis. Changsha is in the Xiang River valley plain, bordering the Luoxiao Mountains on the east, Wuling Mountains on the west, edging in Dongting Lake on the north and bounded on the south by the Hengshan Mountains. It has a monsoonal humid subtropical climate, with an average annual air temperature of 16.8 to 17.3 °C (62.2 to 63.1 °F) and an annual rainfall of 1,358.6 to 1,552.5 mm (53.49 to 61.12 in).Changsha has a history of more than 3,000 years. Changsha was the capital of Changsha Kingdom in the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), and the capital of the Chu State (907–951) in the Ten Kingdoms period. The lacquerware and Silk Texts recovered from Mawangdui (2nd century BC) there are an indication of the richness of local craft traditions. In 1904 Changsha was opened to foreign trade, and large numbers of Europeans and Americans settled there. Changsha was the site of Mao Zedong's conversion to communism. It was also the scene of major battles in the Sino-Japanese War (1931–1945) and was briefly occupied by the Japanese. Changsha is now an important commercial, manufacturing and transportation centre.