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."