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In 1997, Clare Pearson, former chair of the British chamber of Commerce, visited Shenzhen for the first time. What struck her wasn't just the construction, but the energy – a city alive with experimentation, where "tomorrow is being tested here today."
Some two decades later, she returned – this time alongside former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev. What they encountered was a very different Shenzhen: coffee delivered by drone in a public park, "robotic dogs", high-tech camera stabilizers used in Hollywood, and drone piloting from 2,000 km away. Tasks like powerline inspections, which once required a full day of mountain trekking, can now be completed in just a minute from a desk.
It's a shift from adopting technology to creating it.
"It's like a grub entering a chrysalis," Clare reflects. "Everyone thinks nothing's happening. But inside, China was developing. Now it's emerging – like a dragonfly, butterfly or drone – showing the world what it can do."
In 1997, Clare Pearson, former chair of the British chamber of Commerce, visited Shenzhen for the first time. What struck her wasn't just the construction, but the energy – a city alive with experimentation, where "tomorrow is being tested here today."
Some two decades later, she returned – this time alongside former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev. What they encountered was a very different Shenzhen: coffee delivered by drone in a public park, "robotic dogs", high-tech camera stabilizers used in Hollywood, and drone piloting from 2,000 km away. Tasks like powerline inspections, which once required a full day of mountain trekking, can now be completed in just a minute from a desk.
It's a shift from adopting technology to creating it.
"It's like a grub entering a chrysalis," Clare reflects. "Everyone thinks nothing's happening. But inside, China was developing. Now it's emerging – like a dragonfly, butterfly or drone – showing the world what it can do."