Behind Shenzhen's CBD Skyscrapers: Huanggang Urban Village "Slums"

Huanggang Urban Village is one of Shenzhen’s most historically rich, economically active, and strategically located urban villages, often called the “backyard garden of Futian CBD,” and is considered one of the wealthiest urban villages in the city.

Urban villages like Huanggang are informal, self-built, high-density neighborhoods, but they are not “slums” in the global sense. They typically have reliable utilities, strong local governance, high rental demand and significant collective wealth among original villagers.

Why do people mistake it for a slum? Chinese urban villages can look visually chaotic: narrow alleys, "handshake buildings”, dense rental housing and mixed migrant population.

But these features reflect rapid urbanization, not poverty or collapse. In fact, Shenzhen’s urban villages are widely studied as unique, economically productive urban forms, not slums.

Metro: Line 7 Huanggangcun Station Exit C2

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