Luohu launches 1st intl. block talent festival

Local and expatriate representatives inaugurate Luohu International Talent Service Center in the Dushimingyuan residential estate at yesterday ceremony in Guiyuan Subdistrict. Courtesy of the organizer

Luohu District launched its first Talent Festival of International Block at a ceremony at Xinwen Community in Guiyuan Subdistrict on Thursday, the eve of Shenzhen Talent Day that falls on Sunday.

The festival features a wide variety of activities, such as a forum for returned overseas Chinese, calligraphy classes for expats, cultural tours, arts exhibitions, an online job fair, shadow plays and concerts.

At the ceremony, the district inaugurated Luohu International Talent Service Center in the Dushimingyuan residential estate, which will offer one-stop foreigner-related services, including temporary accommodation registrations, and consultations on applications, renewal and extension of visas, work permits and driver’s licenses.

Guiyuan Subdistrict is one of the 20 areas in Shenzhen to pilot an international block program. It houses about 1,200 foreigners, 700 of them working in trade, finance and education, according to Fang Yizhe with the Guiyuan Subdistrict Office.

Lu Shaofeng, director with Luohu’s talent bureau, said the district is building three international blocks in Guiyuan, Cuizhu and Dongmen to create a good business, employment and cultural environment for 30,000 overseas-educated talents, expats and people from Hong Kong and Macao.

As the earliest developed district of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Luohu has enjoyed its geographic advantages with three checkpoints linking with Hong Kong.

The district has worked out a development plan that highlights the development of a headquarters economy and consumption in areas around Caiwuwei and Hubei.

Shenzhen has started a three-year pilot program to build 20 international blocks that will set an example for its international block network.

According to an action plan, the city will complete the construction of at least 15 international blocks by the end of 2022, with great improvements to workplaces, life, ecology and the humanistic environment. An international block network will be formed by 2020 to improve the city’s level of internationalization by 2030, and the international blocks will be key components in the city’s development as an international city and the congregation of international advanced production forces, knowledge and technologies, as well as high-level professionals.