The city of Shenzhen, one of China’s leading smart city developments, is planning to expand downwards to create an underground “mirror city”.

The Shenzhen Municipal Government has approved the Shenzhen Underground Space Resource Utilisation Plan (2025-2035). The city believes it will form a blueprint for three-dimensional smart city development across China and globally.

Shenzhen plans to build an overall structure of “one network, four areas, and multiple points”. This will form an underground space utilisation pattern coordinated with the city centre system. It will have the city’s rail transit network as the framework, and with the city function centre and rail transit hub as the core.

“One network” refers to the rail transit network. “Four areas” refer to four concentrated underground space development areas. “Multiple points” refer to the key underground space development areas corresponding to the city function centre, function node and rail transit hub.

The city will form 48 key underground space development areas.

The plan requires that integrated use of above-ground and underground space will be promoted with urban functional centres, with rail transit stations at the core. The city plans to promote the construction of “complex, intensive, networked underground space”.

Shenzhen is a leading Chinese smart city, that has implemented high-speed broadband, digital twins, AI and data-driven governance. The city has a close working relationship with Chinese telecoms firm Huawei.