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Onelife 27

  • Text
  • Marley
  • Global
  • Urban
  • Bamford
  • Vehicles
  • Shenzhen
  • Evoque
  • Rover
Shenzhen by Range Rover Sport PHEV | A first drive in the new Range Rover Evoque | Mid-century modernist architecture in Germany | George Bamford on what makes true luxury | Meet moon-walker Charlie Duke | Carnival subculture in Brazil

TRAVEL A mass of

TRAVEL A mass of cloud-brushing glass towers perched on the edge of a vast natural harbor; the economic engine room of its nation, with more wealth per capita than anywhere else; and perhaps most fundamentally of all – a city of immigrants. Sound familiar? This isn’t 20th century New York, but 21st century Shenzhen, a city that more than any other defines the new China. Shenzhen turned 40 at the end of last year. In 1978, it was the first experiment in former leader Deng Xiaoping’s drive to open up China. This sleepy fishing town of 30,000 was chosen because it sits just across the bay from the financial hub of Hong Kong. What began as a simple factory town making most of the ’Made in China’ items in your house has morphed into a metropolis of 13 million people, home to tech giants such as Huawei, Tencent and Alibaba. Everything happens fast in Shenzhen, and that includes the future. “I can’t remember the last time I carried a wallet,” is WORLD IN something many locals told us; everything from parking to restaurants to the most humble street food can be bought using your smartphone. The skyscrapers may still be rising at a breathtaking pace, but this is a city where a high quality of life is now everywhere apparent. The streets are clean and green, the parks are beautiful, and there are plenty of ways for Shenzheners to enjoy their leisure time. People throng glitzy shopping malls, the offbeat creative district of OCT- LOFT, art galleries, museums, and restaurants serving everything from tip-top Sichuan flavors and Beijing-style beef hotpot to sushi and Parisian coffee. Perhaps most importantly, Shenzhen has mapped out a goal for itself in sustainable urban living. Part of SHENZHEN HAS MAPPED OUT A GOAL FOR ITSELF IN SUSTAINABLE URBAN LIVING. IT LEADS THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE the International Low Carbon City initiative, it leads the world in electric vehicle infrastructure. Last year, its entire bus and taxi fleets turned electric and it has one of the world’s most comprehensive networks of EV charging points. As a result, the sound of Shenzhen is a purr rather than a roar. What better place to bring the Range Rover Sport Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle? Welcome to the future – Shenzhen-style. There’s an ad everywhere in the city that says, ’Once you come to Shenzhen, you’re a Shenzhener.’ It reveals the super-open essence of the city. We meet Tat Lam of social enterprise start-up Shanzhai City in the newly developed Houhai district, where many of Shenzhen’s steel and glass towers are literally still growing. Amidst the girders and hard hats, Lam is explaining the unique identity that’s been forged in a few short decades. “Shenzhen is a start-up version of a city,” says Lam. “If it doesn’t innovate, it doesn’t have any value. It’s always looking for the next thing.” This energy is the result of a mixing of people from all over China, each searching for something new. Lately, that includes everything from craft beer to designer tea with frothy cheese toppings. Walk the streets of the converted warehouse district of OCT-LOFT and you’ll find a low-lit gym where leather Chesterfield sofas rub shoulders with the weight benches, and the roughand-ready OCT Contemporary Art Terminal offers a retrospective of sculpture, 3D printing and film from artist Sui Jianguo. “Shenzhen is a series of urban villages where innovations develop organically,” says Lam. “In that sense, you could think of it as a crowd city. Rather Slick and sophisticated, Shenzhen is not only home to the world’s latest trends, but is now setting its own. Top left: social start-up founder Tat Lam, amongst the city’s fast-rising towers 52

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Land Rover

Land Rover Magazine 39

 

Land Rover Magazine showcases stories from around the world that celebrate inner strength and the drive to go above and beyond

Land Rover stands for not only the most capable premium vehicles, but a state of mind where a sense of curiosity, exploration and wonder informs all of life’s adventures. Encounter this throughout the latest issue of Land Rover Magazine, from meeting a herd of Ice Age survivors on the Dutch coast with the Land Rover Discovery, to the most innovative sustainable architecture on a Californian journey with the Range Rover Evoque

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