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City and Cultural Center Shift—Performance Space in Shenzhen

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Grand Theater Urbanism

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Abstract

Shenzhen sets an example for rapid development of urban planning and construction. It was the starting point of the largest city-construction movement in contemporary China and also a miracle in the history of global urbanization. On August 26, 1980, Shenzhen became the first Chinese Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and was pushed to the forefront of the reform and opening-up of mainland China. In less than 40 years, Shenzhen has grown from a special economic zone with a total area of 327 km2, a resident population of 310,000 and a GDP of 270 million yuan to a metropolis of 2465 km2 (including Shenzhen-Shantou Special Cooperation Zone), over 12.52 million people, and a GDP of 2.2 trillion yuan.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Data sourced from Statistics Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality website, retrieved January 10, 2019 from http://www.sztj.gov.cn/. For more about the general development of Shenzhen, see Chung et al. (2001), International New Town Institute (2016), O’Donnell et al. (2017).

  2. 2.

    For details on the value and significance of Shenzhen’s planning practice and spatial structure, see Zou (2016, 112–115).

  3. 3.

    For details on the backward situation of Shenzhen culture at that time, see Wang (2007, 4), and Shenzhen Museum (1999, 626).

  4. 4.

    For details on the reason why the leaders wanted to speed up the cultural construction at that time, see Cultural and Historical Records Committee of Shenzhen CPPCC (2001, 156–160).

  5. 5.

    Lingnan School is represented by a group of architects in southern China in the 1970s and 1980s. See Xiao and Yin (2016, 84–90), Xue (2006, Chap. 7), and Xue and Ding (2018, Chap. 4). These books have detailed analysis of the ideas of this southern China architectural school.

  6. 6.

    Sourced from Memorabilia of Shenzhen Grand Theater (Infrastructure). Courtesy of Shenzhen Grand Theater.

  7. 7.

    See Office of Local Chronicles Compilation of Shenzhen (2012, 212).

  8. 8.

    For details on the renovation of Shenzhen Grand Theater, see Cai and Chou (2005, 46–51).

  9. 9.

    For more about the key points of Shenzhen’s development in different stages, see Meng (2006).

  10. 10.

    The idea that the public cultural service system has basically taken shape comes from Wen (2008, 43).

  11. 11.

    Planning concept extracted from CAUPD (2014).

  12. 12.

    For more about the situation of the early development of OCT, see Author unknown (2010).

  13. 13.

    About the architectural design of Huaxia Art Center, see Gong et al. (1993).

  14. 14.

    Wang’s thesis discussed that an eclecticism appeared in architectural design from the 1980s to the 1990s. See Wang (2000).

  15. 15.

    For detail about the first version of the planning of Futian Central District, see Chen (2015a, 100–106).

  16. 16.

    The information on the planning in 1991 is quoted from Chan’s book, see Chen (2015b, 71–73).

  17. 17.

    The details for the international consultation on the planning of core areas of Futian Central District are from Shenzhen Planning and Land Resource Bureau (2002, 15–25).

  18. 18.

    The data on the investment are taken from Urban Planning, Land & Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Time+ Architecture Journal (2017, 92–117).

  19. 19.

    For detail about the process of the competition, see Urban Planning, Land & Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Time+ Architecture Journal (2017, 121).

  20. 20.

    For detail about the process of the competition, see Urban Planning, Land & Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Time+ Architecture Journal (2017, 25).

  21. 21.

    Finally, Arata Isozaki’s design was 20:15 scores, and won the Safdie’s. Information excerpted and modified from Shenzhen Planning and Land Resource Bureau (2002, 66–73).

  22. 22.

    The review minutes was published in Urban Planning, Land & Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (2017, 25).

  23. 23.

    Information excerpted and modified from Shenzhen Planning and Land Resource Bureau (2002, 66).

  24. 24.

    Interview of Shenzhen Concert Hall was conducted on November 30, 2016. The interviewees include Li Shunchao of administration department, Yang Qingxi and Manager Gu from technical department.

  25. 25.

    See Lu (2009). Lu’s book has compiled the progress of the Chinese theater since the end of the 19th century. The book has unique information and elaborates on the transformation and development of performing buildings in China. For more about the development of performing buildings in China, see Xue and Xiao (2017).

  26. 26.

    See Lu (2011) & Wilkinson (2018)

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Acknowledgements

This paper is part of a study supported by the Research Grant Council, Hong Kong Government, under Grant Project No. CityU 11658816. To begin with, my greatest gratitude goes to my respected supervisor, Professor Charlie Q. L. Xue, both for his ongoing support, helpful advice and warm encouragements during the process of writing the manuscript. I also want to thank many people who had the generosity to help me undertake the field work and conduct my research: Dr. Chen Yixin from Urban Planning, Land and Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality; Zhu Ya, Duan Xinren, Kang Rui from Shenzhen Grand Theater; and Li Shunchao, Ms. Pan, Yang Qingxi from Shenzhen Concert Hall. Besides, I am also grateful to my colleague, Zhang Lujia and Xiao Yingbo. I benefited from every discussion with them. Finally, I would like to thank my family for always being there for me. Their love was a strong inspiration.

I was born in Shenzhen, but my parents are not from Shenzhen. I was tagged with the ‘second-generation immigrant’ (Shen Er Dai) label, and Shenzhen city is only eight years older than I am. When I was a child, I lived in a Danwei housing less than one kilometre from the Grand Theater. Although the Grand Theater and the financial district behind it were the most prosperous downtown area in the eyes of others, as to me, it was a paradise for walking after dinner! The Grand Theater was open to the public then, except for the inner performance hall. Every night, my parents took me through Litchi Park to the lively commercial pedestrian street under the theater, and we took a ride on the square… Eventually, when I was four years old, I walked into the theater which was the best art palace in Shenzhen in the 1980s and even 1990s, to watch a drama with a gift ticket provided by my father’s company. After more than 20 years, I have forgotten the name and content of the show, but I remember that the next day I showed off the ticket stub to my classmates and boasted about my experience of watching the show.

In addition to holding various large-scale cultural performances, in the 1990s, the Grand Theater was the site of various high-class conferences and festivals of government agencies and institutions. High prices and outstanding political functions made it difficult for the public to enter the theater. In 2005, the underground commercial street and the up-and-down outdoor squares were turned into an underground car park after the renovation of the whole theater. The Grand Theater and the nearby Dajiale Stage, which carried the collective memory of the first two generations of Shenzhen immigrants have become cold and closed “ground-hitting” boxes.

As we all know, Shenzhen is an immigrant city in which diverse cultures collide and merge. It also seems to be more inclusive and eager to innovate than other cities. In 1987, the government took the lead in conducting an international consultation on the planning of the future central area of the special economic zone. In 1997, the government launched intensive international design competitions for the six major public buildings in the central area, all of which demonstrated the vision of Shenzhen to be open, inclusive and innovative. In 2007, a cultural centre designed by a famous Japanese architect was completed here. I, as a sophomore majoring in architecture, was delighted at the opportunity to behold the master up close. This low-key but sparkling cultural palace amidst the blocks resembling ‘the City of Tomorrow’ imagined by Le Corbusier, with groups of office buildings in a modern American style during the 1980s and 1990s, made me realise that library and concert hall can be open and transparent. However, for various reasons, the use of the building is not as open as the design makes it appear. This kind of high-end cultural space remains somewhat isolated from civic life.

The trend is changing and new construction is in the works. I hope that Shenzhen will create another legend and that in the next round of construction of cultural facilities it will not only transform its closed buildings into more open sharing platforms, but also bring this kind of ‘high-up’ cultural space closer to daily life and integrate it more positively into urban space.

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  1. Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Cong Sun

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  1. City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Charlie Qiuli Xue

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Sun, C. (2019). City and Cultural Center Shift—Performance Space in Shenzhen. In: Xue, C. (eds) Grand Theater Urbanism . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7868-3_4

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