Shenzhen's city government has reclaimed 60 square kilometres of land from the sea since the 1990s, with little public consultation. It plans to reclaim another 50 square kilometres in the next 10 years.
Wang Yongjun , former head of the city's Futian Mangrove and Birds Nature Reserve, says 80 per cent of Shenzhen's 270 kilometres of natural coastline has disappeared in the past 30 years. A reclamation project in the east is now destroying 24 of the remaining 54 kilometres.
At least 16 reclamation projects are under way along Shenzhen's coast, spread over the Baoan, Nanshan and Yantian districts. They include plans for expressways, airport extensions, new container terminals, a power plant, logistics park, business districts and luxury properties. Mountains near the coast have been razed to fill the sea.
The rush to reclaim has environmental and economic consequences, putting further pressure on the city's remaining mangrove habitat, adding to concerns about marine pollution and lowering the value of properties thrown up too rapidly and now subsiding.
Last month, thousands of owners of flats in a glitzy west Shenzhen neighbourhood found their luxury homes were sinking again, just a few weeks after the authorities filled cracks in foundations with concrete.
Householders in the leaning towers of Baoan, otherwise known as Shum Yip New Shoreline, said they were worried about potential safety risks and the sinking value of their properties, down 10 per cent to 18,000 yuan (HK$20,600) per square metre since cracks began opening up all over buildings and pavements.