Bao'an District 宝安区

History

The district government dates the county of Bao'an to 331, under the Eastern Jin, and calls it the root of Shenzhen and Hong Kong culture. In the mid-Ming, after raids by wokou pirates (倭寇), it was renamed Xin'an (新安), and the land south of the Shenzhen River became British Hong Kong between the Opium War and the end of the Qing; the old name returned in 1914. The county became the city of Shenzhen in 1979, was re-established outside the special economic zone in 1982, and in 1992 was split into Bao'an and Longgang (龙岗) districts. Guangming (光明) was carved out in 2007 and Longhua (龙华) at the end of 2011.

Setting and landscape

The land is higher in the east and lower in the west, where muddy shores and plain form part of the Pearl River Delta; the highest point is the summit of Yangtai Mountain (羊台山) at 587 metres. The government counts 51.5 kilometres of coastline. The climate is subtropical monsoon.

What to see

Fenghuang Old Village (凤凰古村) below Fenghuang Mountain (凤凰山) in Fuyong (福永) was the ancestral home of descendants of Wen Tianxiang's (文天祥) clan and was first built in the Dade reign period (大德). On the mountain, beside the old Fengyan Temple (凤岩古庙), a group of carved inscriptions dating from the Ming to the Republic is the only one surviving in Bao'an. In Shajing (沙井), the Longjin stone pagoda (龙津石塔) of 1220 carries a Song-style relief Buddha; the Qing-era Xin'an county gazetteer (新安县志) says it was raised on a new bridge to calm the dragon-like waves, and it became a Guangdong protected site in 2015. On the modern waterfront, Happy Harbour (欢乐港湾) has the Bay Area Light Ferris wheel (湾区之光), and Xiwan Mangrove Park (西湾红树林公园) has a coastal boardwalk through mangrove wetland.

Food and local products

Oysters from Shajing are one of Shenzhen's important seafoods. The Shajing Oyster Culture Museum (沙井蚝文化博物馆), opened in 2009 and described as Shenzhen's first museum on the subject, holds more than 500 objects on the history of Shajing oyster farming, processing, tools and the customs of oyster families. Xixiang (西乡) is Shenzhen's main source of greasyback shrimp (基围虾), small, thin-shelled and translucent with speckles.

Getting oriented

Bao'an International Airport and Dachan Bay port (大铲湾港) are both in the district, as is the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center (国际会展中心). The Guangzhou–Shenzhen intercity railway and six expressways cross it, and the Shenzhen–Zhongshan Link (深中通道) opened in June 2024.

Highlights

• Fenghuang Old Village and Fenghuang Mountain 凤凰古村与凤凰山: Village of the descendants of Wen Tianxiang's clan, with Ming-to-Republic rock inscriptions on the mountain above.
• Longjin stone pagoda 龙津石塔: Sandstone pagoda of 1220 with a Song-style Buddha relief; Guangdong protected site since 2015.
• Shajing Oyster Culture Museum 沙井蚝文化博物馆: Museum opened in 2009 on the history of Shajing oyster farming and oyster-family customs.
• Xixiang greasyback shrimp 西乡基围虾: Small, translucent, thin-shelled shrimp; Xixiang is Shenzhen's main source.