Shenzhen Beautiful City for Children

In 2016, officials of Shenzhen Women’s Federation took the lead, in China, in proposing Shenzhen, a city in South China’s Guangdong Province, be built into a child-friendly city (CFC). Also that year, Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government included the objective of building the city into a CFC in Shenzhen’s 13th Five-year Plan (2016-2020).

In 2018, Shenzhen formulated action plans (for promoting the construction of CFCs), which contained provisions for the promotion of children’s social security, children’s participation in urban planning and urban governance, and the construction of child-friendly spaces (CFS).

If you are observant enough, you will notice child-friendly elements are integrated into various aspects of Shenzhen residents’ lives. For example, many primary and middle schools (in Shenzhen) provide bus services to ensure children’s safety. Also, well-equipped nursing rooms (for mothers and their babies) can be found in many public places in the city. Through Shenzhen’s exploration of and innovation in the construction of CFCs, one may get a glimpse of both the “vigorous vitality” of the international metropolis and children’s colorful lives in the city. Learning from the advanced experiences of cities or communities (in other countries) in building CFCs, Shenzhen during the past several years has scored great achievements in the construction of CFCs. Shenzhen’s experiences in constructing CFCs may help guide large cities (in other countries) as they build CFCs.

‘First Person to Try Tomato’

During the 1990s, Shenzhen Women’s Federation began arranging for migrant children, or the children’s representatives, to talk with senior government officials, to advance issues of concern to the children. Such activities have highlighted the officials’ respect and care for children.

During the past several decades, Shenzhen has conducted various activities to encourage children to participate in urban planning and urban governance. For example, the city has held Shenzhen International Children’s Forum nine times during the past decade.

Shenzhen was not only a forerunner of the cities to promote China’s reform and opening-up, but it also became the “first person to try tomato” in conducting work related to women and/or children. For example, Shenzhen Women’s Federation, in the latter half of 2015, conducted a survey (regarding the construction of CFCs), during which the federation’s cadres learned more than 800 cities (in various countries) had been recognized as CFCs by the UN. At the end of 2015, Shenzhen took the lead (in China) in building CFCs. Leaders of Shenzhen Municipal Government believe the city’s efforts to promote the construction of CFCs accords with both the Party’s people-centered philosophy of development and China’s endeavors to promote family education and good family traditions.

Due in large part to the efforts of Shenzhen Working Committee on Children and Women to promote the construction of CFCs, Shenzhen has taken the lead in China in including the construction of CFCs in the municipal government’s overall urban planning.

Due in large part to the efforts of Shenzhen Women’s Federation, Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee in May 2016 included the construction of CFCs in the Outline of Shenzhen’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) for Economic and Social Development. At the end of 2019, the objective of building CFCs was included in Shenzhen’s Action Plan for Building a Leading Demonstration Area of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (2019-2025). In the reports of its 10 plenary sessions (from 2016-2020), Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee stressed greater efforts should be made to accelerate the construction of CFCs. In August 2021, Shenzhen Working Committee on Women and Children promulgated Shenzhen’s Action Plan for Building Child-friendly Cities (2021-2025). The plan stipulates the objectives and tasks of building CFCs during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

By December 2021, Shenzhen had established 722 homes for women and children, 381 children’s councils and 273 municipal-level, child-friendly bases. The city had also set up 1,124 nursing rooms in public places. Shenzhen’s CFC Construction Project earned Shenzhen Women’s Federation and Shenzhen Working Committee on Women and Children an Excellence Award during the First Innovation Award of Urban Governance in China (2018-2019). The event was hosted by the Institute of Urban Governance, under Peking University.

Urban Planning, from Children’s Perspective

Shenzhen is a large city, with a high population density. Statistics derived from the seventh national census indicated, by the end of 2020, children aged 14 and under, in Shenzhen, numbered more than 2.65 million. During the construction of CFCs, Shenzhen’s urban planners have learned to observe the world from children’s perspective. The planners have designed Shenzhen’s logo for CFC. Also, the city has provided special, child-friendly trains, and the city has broadcast various child-friendly radio and TV programs.

To give priority to the protection of children’s rights and interests, especially in the municipal government’s policy-making process, Shenzhen during the past several years has conducted pilot projects to seek children’s suggestions on how urban planners should build child-friendly communities, schools, libraries, hospitals, parks and transportation infrastructure. Implementation of the projects was intended to establish a long-term mechanism for promoting children’s participation in public affairs.

Children’s Participation in Urban Planning, Governance

So far, 10 of Shenzhen’s districts have established children’s councils. The organizations often organize their members, composed of warmhearted children (in the districts’ communities), to discuss how to help the communities’ workers promote residents’ safety and strengthen workers’ management over the communities. The councils also provide children with opportunities to participate in the communities’ governance. For example, Futian, a district in Shenzhen, provides training to children, to help them improve their ability to protect their legal rights and interests. The training is also aimed at helping children cultivate a strong civic consciousness, so they will participate in public affairs after they become adults. That, in turn, will help strengthen urban governance.

In May 2017, Shenzhen Women’s Federation decided to implement a pilot project to build Hongli, a community in Futian, into a CFC. Prior to that, the federation’s cadres had visited the 10 blocks of Futian to learn about the local conditions.

Shenzhen Municipal Government had a hard time renovating old buildings and facilities in Hongli, which was established more than 30 years ago.

In June 2017, several urban planners went to Hongli, to ask dozens of children what their favorite community park would be like. Based on the children’s suggestions, the planners installed various sports facilities (including swings, sand pools, trampolines and a climbing wall) when they built the park, a year later.

In September 2020, Baihua Child-friendly Block (in Futian), the first child-friendly block in Shenzhen, was officially opened. In December 2020, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized diplomatic envoys to China (from 22 countries) to visit the block. Many envoys gave thumbs up to the block’s child-friendly interactive spaces and various child-friendly facilities (including long corridors and rainbow zebra crossings). The envoys said they were impressed by Shenzhen’s care for children, through which one may get a glimpse of Shenzhen residents’ understanding of happiness.

In May 2022, Shenzhen promulgated the Guide to the Construction of the Child-friendly Public Service System. The guide, the first of its kind in China, promulgates the standard for the construction of CFC’s public service system.