Covering just 1.45 square kilometers in Futian District, Shenzhen, Huaqiangbei has written a legend of China’s manufacturing industry evolving from a follower to a leader, known as “China’s No.1 Electronics Street”. Once labeled as a “counterfeit paradise”, it has now transformed into a global core hub for AI hardware innovation through its unparalleled supply chain efficiency and acute technological intuition, making it a must-visit destination for foreign travelers seeking the vitality of China’s “intelligent manufacturing”.
Huaqiangbei’s rise began with the “processing with supplied materials” industry in the early days of reform and opening up. Starting from simple factories in the Shangbu Industrial Zone, it gradually gathered 35 professional electronic markets and tens of thousands of merchants, forming a full industrial chain ecosystem covering component procurement, scheme design, rapid prototyping, flexible manufacturing and global distribution. At 6:30 a.m., the glass doors of SEG Plaza open, and the unique smell of electronic components fills the air. Merchants have already displayed the latest AI hardware products—from smart headsets supporting real-time multilingual translation, to detection devices that can identify crop diseases, and programming education robots for children, waiting for customers from more than 180 countries and regions around the world.
“Rapid iteration” is Huaqiangbei’s most distinctive label. Relying on the “three-circle linkage” ecosystem, it has created an industrial miracle of “design in the morning, prototyping in the afternoon, mass production the next day, and going global in a week”. The transformation cycle of an idea from concept to product is only one-third of that in Silicon Valley. As the AI wave sweeps the world, Huaqiangbei has quickly completed industrial upgrading. In 2023, the number of AI hardware merchants in Huaqiangbei increased by 47% year-on-year, and the shipment volume of AI products accounted for 30% of the electronic market. Workshops that once assembled mobile phones have transformed into producers of AI drawing tablets, and stalls selling drones have upgraded to AI inspection robot service providers. “White-label AI” products, with their high cost performance and customization capabilities, are exported to markets in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America and other regions, becoming an important driver for the global popularization of smart hardware.
It is not only an industrial highland but also a paradise for makers. Countless well-known enterprises, from TP-LINK and Transsion Holdings to DJI Innovation, started from the “one-meter counters” of Huaqiangbei and achieved leapfrog development relying on the supply chain advantages here. Today, adapting to the entrepreneurial trend of “one person as an army”, Huaqiangbei has built the city’s first OPC (One Person Company) innovation community, supporting the “Shenzhen AI Night School” to train practical talents, enabling individual entrepreneurs to “do global business alone” relying on the mature ecosystem. At the 2026 Huaqiangbei AI Ecology Conference, more than 60 AI innovative products were unveiled, from LinklyAI smart business cards to AIGC content factories, demonstrating the innovative concept of “application first” here.
As night falls, the neon signs of Huaqiangbei light up with the word “AI”, and packaged smart hardware is successively loaded onto trucks, bound for shelves in Dubai, Berlin and Rio de Janeiro. From “counterfeit imitation” to “independent innovation”, from “front shop and back factory” to “global supply chain command center”, Huaqiangbei has interpreted Shenzhen’s urban spirit of “pursuing innovation and strength, never giving up” through more than 40 years of iteration. For foreign travelers, here they can not only feel the pulse of the global electronic industry but also witness an industrial revolution driven by efficiency and innovation.
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