The Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone under large-scale construction is an experiment for China to explore a new path of common prosperity. Nowadays, this place looks very much like the vibrant Shenzhen of the early 1990s: brand new roads and factories, towering buildings between rural mountains... Since 2018, the average annual economic growth rate here has reached 24%. Shenzhen is a special economic zone in China, with a regional gross domestic product (GDP) of 3873.18 billion yuan and a per capita GDP of approximately 215300 yuan by 2025. It is located in Guangdong Province, which has been ranked first in China's GDP for 37 consecutive years as the world's second-largest economy. By 2025, Nanshan District in Shenzhen's GDP will reach 1010.238 billion yuan, with a per capita GDP exceeding 540000 yuan, making it the first prefecture level district in China to enter the trillion yuan club. However, uneven regional development has always been a weakness in Guangdong's development. Shanwei, located only 60 kilometers away from Pingshan District in Shenzhen, is also a revolutionary old area of Hailufeng, with a per capita GDP of only about 57200 yuan in 2025. Due to the mountainous terrain, frequent typhoons, and conservative ideological concepts, poverty has persisted here for a long time. To change this situation, in 2011, Guangdong Province established the Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone in four towns of Ebu, Xiaomo, Chishi, and Yumen in Haifeng County, Shanwei City, jointly managed by Shenzhen and Shanwei. At the end of 2018, the Party Working Committee and Management Committee of Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone were officially established, and the mechanism was significantly adjusted, with Shenzhen fully leading the development and construction. At that time, the per capita income in Haifeng was very low, and the per capita income in these four towns was only half of that in Haifeng County. Even in the revolutionary old areas of Hailufeng, it belonged to an economic depression. In November 2023, the "Guangdong Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone Regulations" will be implemented. This is the first provincial-level legislative form in China to clearly define the "enclave" fully dominated by "flying out of the land", which is a bold policy innovation. The establishment of the Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone is an innovative exploration by Guangdong to address regional development imbalances. Through the special zone leading the old areas, it introduces industrial, infrastructure, and governance concepts to the latter, and explores a feasible and replicable path. Deng Xiaoping advocated in the early stages of reform and opening up that some people and some regions should become rich first, and advanced regions should help underdeveloped regions, ultimately achieving common prosperity. For over 40 years, China has lifted 770 million rural poor out of poverty, which is considered to reflect the essential characteristics of socialist modernization. With the start of China's 15th Five Year Plan, the action of common prosperity is accelerating. Wu Qubo, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone, has been working here for seven years. Recalling when he first arrived, he said that there were no streetlights on the main road here, and his first priority was to install streetlights. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, the Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone entered the fast lane of development. With the large investment in transportation facilities and urban supporting facilities, modern enterprises represented by the world's electric vehicle giant BYD have successively settled in. A BYD executive said, "The construction land quota will be provided by the province, and the land provided by Shenshan will be used to build factories and engage in the production of mid to high end car models. There is a seaport 3 kilometers away from the factory area, and cars can board ships from here directly to the global core areas. BYD currently has a total investment of over 31.5 billion yuan in the Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone, establishing a complete industrial system from core components such as batteries, motors, and electronic controls to vehicle manufacturing. By 2025, the total production of BYD vehicles in Shenzhen and Shantou will reach 290000, with an output value exceeding 74 billion yuan. This has driven nationwide industrial agglomeration, with nearly 30 upstream and downstream supporting enterprises settling in successively. Yanfeng International is one of BYD's important interior suppliers. It has moved its factory from Dongguan to this location, just across the street from BYD's vehicle base. The parts can be delivered in less than 5 minutes after being offline. Shenshan is building a new generation of world-class automobile city core carrier area in Shenzhen, reflecting the efficient allocation of resources under the market economy. At the same time, the government's planning guidance and services have also played a significant role. ”Wu Qubo said. It's not just the development of enterprises, but also the flourishing industries and influx of talents that allow more local residents to enjoy the dividends. Previously, many villagers here went out to work, and the village became a "hollow village" with only 50-60000 permanent residents left. Now, the people who went out have returned, including the migrant population, reaching 150000. Many villagers choose to work nearby and join companies such as BYD, and some even seize opportunities to start their own businesses. Weng Chuhao and his wife took the lead in signing a contract during the relocation of the entire village, operating a restaurant on the food street to provide food for enterprise employees, with a daily turnover of three to four thousand yuan; Chen Zhenbo formed a construction team dedicated to serving factory buildings and infrastructure projects in the area, expanding from one team to three. Previously, the collective income of the villages here was almost zero, but now there are more than ten million yuan villages and ten million yuan villages. Li Xianglin, a 53 year old resident of Jianmen Street, upgraded his seafood stall to a restaurant last year, attracting a continuous stream of diners. In the future, more companies will come in, and business will definitely be better, which can also drive the prosperity of seafood, homestays, and other industries. The development of Shanwei has also begun to accelerate. By 2025, the GDP of Shanwei will reach 154.63 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 5.8% during the 14th Five Year Plan period, ranking second in the province. Shanwei has deeply integrated into the "one hour living circle" of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, and the per capita disposable income growth rate of residents has led the province for three consecutive years. Relying on the radiation effect of the Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone, Shanwei is making every effort to build a Shenzhen Shantou Cooperation Expansion Zone. Importantly, people's attitudes have changed and they have gained a new understanding of modern lifestyles. ”Chen Guitian, the secretary of the Yunxin Village Party Branch in Xiaomo Street, expressed his feelings. To promote the development of the Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone, Guangdong Province and Shenzhen City have taken many pioneering reform measures, such as promoting the establishment of courts, procuratorates, and public security bureaus, and adopting flexible measures in taxation in accordance with the law. Another measure is to promote balanced development of education. Shenzhen's top middle schools have set up campuses in the Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone, enrolling 9900 students. No one here has ever been admitted to Tsinghua University or Peking University before, and there is hope for it to happen in the future, "said Guo Shenghong, vice principal of Shenzhen High School's School of Mathematics and Physics. The Shenzhen Shantou Special Cooperation Zone has also established the Shenzhen Vocational University Shenzhen Shantou Campus with an enrollment scale of 15000 people, planned the Peking University Shenzhen Hospital Shenzhen Shantou Hospital with 800 beds, and planned to construct about 60000 sets of affordable housing... All of these are to meet the "people's longing for a better life". The experiment in Guangdong is only a path to explore common prosperity. Various regions in China are promoting this work according to local conditions. Jiangsu promotes complementary advantages between developed and relatively underdeveloped regions through joint construction between the north and south, and cultivates new growth poles; Zhejiang has launched the Mountain Sea Cooperation Project, forming a provincial practice model of "getting rich first and then getting rich" through paired assistance. (New Society)