Longhua District has undergone a transformation from a functional zone to a fully established administrative district. On Dec. 30, 2011, the Longhua New Area was set up on the basis of the former Longhua and Guanlan Townships of Bao’an District, and on Jan. 7, 2017, it was officially upgraded to an administrative district. Covering a total area of 175.6 square kilometers, the district administers six subdistricts—Guanhu, Minzhi, Longhua, Dalang, Fucheng, and Guanlan—comprising 69 community workstations and 113 neighborhood committees. By the end of 2024, Longhua had about 700,000 registered residents and a permanent population of around 2.52 million. After years of solid groundwork and long-term planning, Longhua has become a vibrant land full of opportunities for entrepreneurship, innovation and growth.

Superior location and connectivity

Located at the geometric center of Shenzhen and along the central axis of development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), Longhua borders six districts and one city: Longgang to the east; Futian, Luohu and Nanshan to the south; Bao’an to the west; and Dongguan and Guangming to the north. It is home to Shenzhen North Railway Station, a mega integrated transportation hub in the GBA. Travel time to Hong Kong West Kowloon is just 15 minutes, making Longhua one of the most convenient and fastest gateways to Hong Kong on the Chinese Mainland. The district also provides 30-minute access to key urban areas such as Qianhai and Hetao cooperation zones, and within four hours one can reach major mainland cities including Xiamen, Changsha and Wuhan.

Robust industrial base

In 2024, Longhua’s regional GDP reached about 315.4 billion yuan, up 5.6% year on year. The output of industrial enterprises above designated size totaled 656.7 billion yuan up 4.6%, with added value growing 5.6%. Fixed asset investment exceeded 120 billion yuan, hitting a record high. Retail sales of consumer goods reached 140.5 billion yuan, up 3.5%, while imports and exports totaled 561.1 billion yuan, up 4.2%. General public budget revenue stood at 16.5 billion yuan, among the top in Shenzhen. 

Strategic emerging industries contributed 42.6% of Longhua’s GDP. The district’s next-generation display device cluster was recognized as a national SME specialized industrial cluster, while its high-performance medical devices cluster and big data analytics & application software cluster were named provincial-level specialized clusters. Longhua ranked among the top 10 industrial districts in China for the first time, placed 22nd nationwide in overall competitiveness, and 24th in CCID’s Top 100 Districts for High-quality Economic Development.

Thriving innovation ecosystem

Longhua is home to 1,938 industrial enterprises above designated size, 4,092 national high-tech enterprises, 40 listed companies, and 138 national “l(fā)ittle giant” enterprises specialized in niche sectors. It serves as a provincial core area for AI industry and a demonstration base for the industrial internet. The Meiguan Innovation Corridor is a key part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, hosting world-class giants like Huawei and Foxconn alongside trillion-yuan-level manufacturing clusters.

The district has 377 innovation carriers at various levels. The National High-performance Medical Device Innovation Center, stands as the first national-level manufacturing innovation center in Shenzhen and the only one in China dedicated to medical devices. Longhua is also where China’s first domestically developed ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) system was born. Companies such as Gebiga Co., Ltd. have been approved to establish a national molecular drug innovation center, and the CR Sanjiu TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Demonstration Project won the a second prize in the National Science and Technology Progress Award. The Shenzhen Institute for Advanced Study, UESTC (University of Electronic Science and Technology of China) is accelerating permanent site construction, while the Shenzhen Institute of Computing Sciences’ Yashan DB System was recognized as one of 10 most cutting-edge technologies and won a first prize from the Geographic Information Science and Technology Progress Award at the Digital China Summit. Total R&D expenditure reached 12.5 billion yuan, accounting for 4.15% of GDP.

Beautiful ecological environment

Surrounded by mountains and nourished by rivers, Longhua is a national demonstration zone for ecological civilization. It boasts Mission Hills Golf Club, a favorite of elites worldwide; Guanlan Original Printmaking Base, a hub for global artists; Mission Hills Resort, a national 5A tourist attraction; The Shanshuitianyuan Resort, a 4A scenic spot; and Yangtai Mountain Park, one of the eight must-visit scenic spots in Shenzhen famed for its lush forest landscape. Guanlan River, the only ecological river traversing an entire Shenzhen district, flows through Longhua.

The district has 176 parks, 296 kilometers of greenways, a 44.2% greening coverage rate, and 22 national-level green factories, the second-highest in the city. It has been recognized as an excellent “Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains” practice zone, a climate-livable and national soil and water conservation demonstration district, and a national pilot zone for coordinated pollution and carbon reduction. Guanlan River has been recognized nationally for creating a livable water environment and praised provincially as an exemplary model of beautiful waterways. Niuhu Lake Greenway has also been honored as a scenic green corridor at the provincial level.

Rich culture

Longhua’s culture is a vibrant blend of tradition and modernity, shaped by its rich Hakka heritage, revolutionary footprints, and contemporary fashion. The district is home to landmarks such as the Memorial Hall of Chinese Cultural Celebrity Rescue in Baishilong Subdistrict, the new venues of the Shenzhen Library and Shenzhen Art Museum, as well as a wide range of cultural and sports facilities totaling 6.31 million square meters.

Longhua has invited nine distinguished cultural and sports figures, including Peking Opera artist Meng Guanglu, former Palace Museum director Shan Jixiang, and renowned crosstalk performer Jiang Kun. It has also hosted major events such as the WCBA All-Star Game, the Honor of Kings International Championship (KIC), the China Table Tennis Super League (CTTSL) Finals, and international tennis open tournaments. The district’s Go team claimed the national league championship, while more than 500 local artworks have won national and provincial awards.

The Dachuankeng Qilin Dance has been inscribed on China’s national intangible cultural heritage list. A rural tourism project submitted by Guanlan Subdistrict was the only Shenzhen initiative to be recognized as a national boutique rural tourism route. Dalang Fashion Town, Guanlan Original Printmaking Base, Guanlan Ancient Market, and Guihutang Ancient Residences have been designated as Shenzhen’s signature cultural blocks. Shangwei and Aohu Art Villages were included in the provincial industrial tourism resource pool. Two themed tourism routes—one highlighting Chinese porcelain and mahogany furniture, the other showcasing women’s fashion crafts—were selected among Guangdong’s 20 premium industrial tourism routes. Longhua District has also been named a provincial tourism demonstration zone.

Flourishing public well-being

Longhua District has 122 primary and secondary schools and 30 education groups, providing about 227,000 compulsory education seats. Four primary education reform programs have received national teaching achievement awards, positioning Longhua as Shenzhen’s first provincial pilot zone for education evaluation reform and an experimental area for curriculum reform under the Ministry of Education. The district has also passed provincial-level supervision in areas such as education quality, balanced development of compulsory education institutions, and the popularization of inclusive preschool education.

In healthcare, Longhua is home to two top-tier comprehensive hospitals—Longhua People’s Hospital and Longhua Central Hospital—as well as three municipal hospitals, including Shenzhen Children’s Hospital Longhua Campus, Xinhua Hospital, and Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital Longhua Campus. The district operates 127 community healthcare centers and offers 10,985 hospital beds. It has been recognized as a national health promotion district and a national pilot zone for chronic disease prevention and control.

Since its establishment, the district has built or allocated around 125,000 units of affordable housing, with 65,000 units already delivered. Longhua Talent Park has been approved as a national human resources service industrial park, and the city’s first provincial-level entrepreneurship incubation base for people with disabilities has also been established in the district.

Vibrant grassroots governance

Longhua District has developed an innovative model for resolving conflicts and disputes with intelligence, precision, and effectiveness. This approach has been recognized as Shenzhen’s sole representative of the modernized “Fengqiao Experience,” a grassroots dispute-resolution model originating in 1960s Zhejiang that emphasizes local, community-driven solutions. Longhua was also the first district in Shenzhen to roll out an urban safety pilot program and has been named one of Guangdong’s demonstration zones for safe development.

The district has built a citizen rapid-response platform and an integrated smart governance system. Its public appeals service center has become a provincial benchmark, and Longhua has consistently ranked first in Shenzhen for digital government performance over the past five years. The district is home to China’s first comprehensive mediation institute at the district level, Shenzhen’s first mediation committee specializing in family matters involving foreign nationals and residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and the city’s first district-level public-interest legal service center. Longhua’s general mediation system was recognized among China’s top 10 innovative cases in building a law-based government. The district has led Shenzhen in rule-of-law assessments for four consecutive years and earned an “Excellent” rating in the Peaceful Shenzhen evaluation for the first time.

Looking ahead

On its new journey and with new responsibilities, Longhua District will continue to prioritize high-quality development and focus on economic growth as its central task. Following the municipal government’s strategic deployment, the district aims to build a high-standard digital economy powerhouse and advance the construction of Shenzhen’s core urban area. These efforts will contribute to strengthening Shenzhen’s position as a globally influential economic center and a modern international metropolis.