Qianhai - a small zone with a big role
The districtis at the forefront of yuan reform and touted as another Central, but other plans for its development have gone by the wayside
Qianhai, in Shenzhen, may be the smallest of the dozen experimental zones on the mainland - which include Nansha in Guangzhou and Hengqin in Zhuhai - but its role is arguably the most significant.
In 1980, when Shekou was being developed into one of the mainland's first shipping and logistics ports, officials reserved Qianhai - a 15 square kilometre area on the bay in the western part of the city - as a potential backup development zone for Shenzhen's budding economy.
There were plans to turn the last piece of undeveloped land in Shenzhen into a logistics park or a cluster for high-technology industries, but eventually it was decided it would best serve the interests of both Shenzhen and Hong Kong for the district to operate an array of service industries, including finance, logistics, professional services and media as well as the hi-tech industry.
The State Council designated Qianhai as a "Hong Kong-Shenzhen modern service industries co-operation zone", and a high-level management authority, including officials from Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangdong province, was set up in 2010 to oversee its development.
Hong Kong was given the role of adviser and the task of proposing innovative financial services that could be launched there.