Solving Shenzhen: How My Students See Their City

Ask an expat what Shenzhen is like, and they'll probably mention the skyscrapers, spotless metro stations, or cutting edge technology. Ask one of my students, however, and you'll get a very different answer.

"It’s hot."

Wanting to see Shenzhen through a different lens, I asked four of my students a simple question: What do you love about your city, and what would you change? Their answers revealed plenty about Shenzhen itself, but they also reminded me why teaching critical thinking is just as important as teaching English.

What they love

The food. (Obviously.)

Every single student listed food as one of Shenzhen's greatest strengths. Deborah put it simply:

"There is a lot of food. It is all nice and tasty."

Boyan agreed, before offering his wonderfully ambitious improvement:

"I think the food is delicious, but one thing I would change is that there should be more of it."

Honestly, I understand the sentiment. Living in Shenzhen means having access to cuisine from every corner of China alongside restaurants from around the world. Recently, a fantastic Syrian restaurant opened in Shekou, and I've already become a regular. One of the city's greatest strengths is that no matter what you're craving, chances are you'll find it.

A city built for tomorrow

Lucas focused less on the food and more on the city itself.

"There are many malls, markets and products in Shenzhen. Many people buy things here."

He wasn't wrong. From sprawling shopping centres to tiny street vendors, you're never far from somewhere selling almost anything you can imagine. Several students also commented on Shenzhen's modern appearance. It's a city that feels as though it's permanently looking towards the future, and it's interesting that teenagers notice that just as much as adults do.

What could be better?

One answer united all four students. The weather. Deborah gave the most balanced response:

"The weather is too hot and wet. It is good for growing trees and green spaces, but people need to take umbrellas everywhere."

I loved this answer because she didn't simply say the weather was bad. She recognised both sides of the argument. Yes, the humidity can feel relentless, but it's also part of what makes Shenzhen such a green city. Finding respite from the summer heat can be difficult, and it's hard to imagine this city existing without the invention of air conditioning. Lucas was less forgiving.

"It's hot and wet here with frequent changes."

To be fair, I conducted this survey during typhoon season, so perhaps he was judging Shenzhen at its most dramatic. Even then, it still hasn't reached the unpredictability of the British weather. His next observation surprised me even more.

"There are many electric vehicles available, but they take up a lot of space on the pavement and can drive too fast. There is a lot of garbage and pollution. I would invest more in keeping it clean."

As someone who has visited many other countries, I genuinely consider Shenzhen to be one of the cleanest cities I've ever experienced. At first, I wondered whether he'd misunderstood the question before realising that he hadn't. Like many young Chinese people, Lucas wasn't comparing Shenzhen to other cities. He was comparing it to the city he believed it could become. His thinking wasn't, "This place has problems." It was, "This place is good. How can we make it even better?"

That, to me, was far more interesting than whether I agreed with him.

Teaching students to think

The survey itself was built around a simple T chart, asking students to separate the positives and negatives of living in Shenzhen. It's an activity we often take for granted, but it's a surprisingly effective way to introduce critical thinking. Rather than searching for the "correct" answer, students begin weighing evidence, comparing ideas and recognising that most topics aren't simply good or bad.

Eventually, they move from describing problems to proposing solutions. I wasn't just interested in what my students thought about Shenzhen. I wanted to know whether they could think about why they thought about it. One line from my teaching notes has always stayed with me:

"It is important not to see things as absolutely right or absolutely wrong."

That, ultimately, is the goal. Helping students compare, evaluate and describe before rushing to judgement.

So, what do they see?

They see a city with incredible food, endless shopping and a metro system that simply works. They see a city that's modern, ambitious and full of opportunity. They also see a city that can still be improved.

I came away from this exercise with thoughtful discussions about urban planning, sustainability, public spaces and quality of life, all from students who simply wanted to explain the place they call home.

The skyscrapers of Shenzhen are still rising. So are the students who will shape them one day. Teaching critical thinking won't transform a city overnight, but it might help develop the people who eventually do.

And like Shenzhen itself, they're still being built.