The Pre-1979 Borderland: Geography, Society, and Economy of Bao'an County

Before the skyscrapers and special economic zone designation, the territory of modern Shenzhen was known as Bao'an County, a peripheral borderland defined by its adjacency to British Hong Kong and its relative economic stagnation. This chapter reconstructs the pre-1979 reality, establishing the baseline conditions against which the city’s subsequent transformation can be measured. The analysis is framed through two foundational concepts: borderland and pre-modern urban morphology. A *borderland* is not merely a geographic boundary but a liminal space characterized by porous boundaries, cultural hybridity, economic asymmetry, and often, political tension. It exists in a state of tension between two distinct systems—in this case, the socialist planned economy of mainland China and the capitalist market economy of colonial Hong Kong. *Pre-modern urban morphology* refers to the spatial organization of human settlements prior to industrialization, typically featuring organic growth patterns, mixed land uses, inadequate infrastructure, and a hierarchy centered on administrative or defensive nodes rather than economic functions. Together, these concepts illuminate how Bao'an County functioned as a marginal, agrarian frontier, its development severely constrained by geography, Cold War geopolitics, and socialist economic policies. The following sections detail the county’s physical environment, historical trajectory, demographic composition, subsistence economy, infrastructural deficiencies, and its unique position as a Cold War frontier, thereby setting the stage for understanding the revolutionary changes that began in 1979.

Geographical Foundations: The Constrained Terrain

The physical geography of Bao'an County imposed fundamental limitations on its historical development. Located in the southern tip of the Pearl River Delta, the region covers approximately 2,000 square kilometers, bounded by the South China Sea to the south, the Kowloon Peninsula and New Territories of British Hong Kong to the south and west, and the municipalities of Dongguan and Huiyang to the north and east. Its topography is distinctly tripartite: mountainous areas in the north and east, rolling hills in the central zone, and alluvial plains along the coastline and river valleys. This varied landscape created discrete ecological zones that shaped settlement patterns, agricultural practices, and connectivity.

The northern and eastern parts of the county are dominated by the Wutong Mountains (Mount Wutong, 943 meters) and the Dapeng Peninsula mountain ranges. These rugged highlands, covering roughly 40% of the total area, were largely unsuitable for intensive agriculture due to steep slopes, thin soils, and relative inaccessibility. Historically, these regions supported subsistence farming on terraced fields and served as refuges for marginalized groups, including the Hakka people who migrated from northern China during periods of turmoil. The mountainous terrain also facilitated the persistence of local militias and, during the early communist period, provided bases for guerrilla resistance. For example, the Dapeng Fortress (大鹏所城), established in the Ming Dynasty as a military outpost to combat coastal piracy, later became a stronghold for anti-Qing rebels and, in the 20th century, a base for the Dongjiang Column of the People’s Liberation Army during the Sino-Japanese War. The physical isolation of these areas contributed to their relative autonomy and slower integration into the county’s mainstream economy.

In contrast, the central and southern zones consist of low-lying alluvial plains formed by the Shenzhen River (深圳河), Maozhou River (茅洲河), and Longgang River (龙岗河) systems. These rivers, originating in the interior hills, carry sediment that has created fertile but waterlogged plains. The Shenzhen River forms the natural boundary with Hong Kong, stretching approximately 37 kilometers from the mouth of the Pearl River to the border at Sha Tau Kok. Its estuary, Deep Bay (后海湾), features extensive intertidal mudflats that supported aquaculture but also hindered large-scale maritime access. The plain’s soil, while productive for rice cultivation, suffered from poor drainage and salinity intrusion, requiring elaborate dike and irrigation systems that were often inadequately maintained.

The coastline, indented with bays and inlets, offered natural harbors but lacked deep-water access suitable for modern shipping. Dapeng Bay and Yantian provided sheltered anchorages for traditional fishing junks and coastal trade, but the absence of a protected deep-water port limited their role in international commerce. The Mirror (or Nei) Lingding Island (内伶仃岛) in the Pearl River Estuary, though geographically part of the county’s maritime zone, was strategically important for controlling riverine traffic but remained largely undeveloped.

This fragmented geography—mountains isolating communities, rivers dividing rather than connecting, and a coastline lacking natural deep-water harbors—produced a pattern of dispersed settlement and limited internal integration. Roads followed the contours of the land, making north-south travel across the mountain ridges difficult, while east-west movement along the coastal plain was more feasible but still constrained by river crossings. Before 1979, there were no bridges spanning the Shenzhen River for civilian traffic; only a few ferry points and narrow country lanes connected the border villages. The Lok Ma Chau and Lo Wu crossing points were strictly controlled military zones. Consequently, Bao'an County functioned less as a cohesive territorial unit and more as a collection of semi-isolated valleys and coastal enclaves, each with its own micro-economy and social structure.

The climate, a subtropical monsoon regime with hot, humid summers and mild, dry winters, supported two to three rice crops annually but also brought typhoons and flooding. The 1975 typhoon that struck the region caused widespread damage to crops and housing, underscoring the vulnerability of the agrarian economy to natural shocks. Such environmental risks further discouraged investment in fixed assets and reinforced a subsistence-oriented mindset among the peasantry.

In summary, the geography of Bao'an County did not predispose it to urban or industrial development. Instead, it fostered a peripheral, fragmented borderland whose physical barriers amplified its political and economic marginality. The mountains preserved local distinctiveness but impeded integration; the rivers marked boundaries rather than facilitating exchange; the sea offered subsistence but not commercial opportunity. This constrained terrain would later be violently reshaped by engineering projects—land reclamation, tunnel boring, and highway construction—that formed the physical backbone of Shenzhen’s urban explosion. But in 1979, the land itself told a story of limitation, not potential.

Historical Trajectory: From Military Outpost to Border County

The historical evolution of Bao'an County must be understood as a series of redefinitions of its borderland status. For centuries, the region existed on the periphery of Chinese imperial control, serving alternately as a military buffer, a smuggling corridor, and a site of contested sovereignty. Its administrative boundaries shifted with the fortunes of dynasties, but its core function remained constant: a zone of transition between the Chinese heartland and the maritime world beyond.

The area now known as Bao'an was first incorporated into the imperial system during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), when it formed part of Dongguan County (东莞县). At that time, the population was sparse, consisting of Yue (Cantonese) aboriginal groups and a few Han Chinese settlers. The region’s significance grew during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) as maritime trade expanded. The **Song gover