Dutch vlogger hires band to write song about SZ

Dutch vlogger Sander Cole, who grew up in Shenzhen and is known online as “不是柯桑德 ,” spent over 5,000 yuan (US$697.8) to commission a team of musicians from Nigeria to create and perform a song dedicated to his “hometown”— Shenzhen.

“Long-time followers know that my hometown is Shenzhen — I grew up here,” said Cole in his updated video Friday.

To create a song that truly represents the city, he not only spent 5,575 yuan online to hire African musicians, but also helped compile key words about Shenzhen, since the artists had never been to China and were unfamiliar with the city.

These key words included: diverse cuisine, Mountains-Seas Vista, beautiful ecology, highly livable, technologically advanced, and dreamlike.

He specifically noted that Shenzhen had transformed from a border town into a metropolis within 45 years, developing at an incredibly rapid pace.

Interestingly, he mentioned that while Shenzhen offers food from all over the world, dishes like coconut chicken and braised pork rice represent the city’s unique flavors — so these elements had to be included. After providing the key words, he asked the band to do some research on their own and then compose the song.

Once the song was completed, he changed into a Shenzhen school uniform to review it with his audience. True to the band’s signature upbeat pop style, the song immediately launched into praise, singing about the fishing village’s humble beginnings, the city’s dazzling skyline, the harmony of mountains and seas, and even coconut chicken and braised pork rice — two dishes that have become household names in Shenzhen.

The lyrics also highlighted Shenzhen’s technological innovation, calling it the “heart of Silicon Valley,” and referenced trending local topics like drones and robotic dance.

After listening, Cole couldn’t help but clap enthusiastically, giving the song a perfect score — even “10,000 out of 10.”

“It’s so good! So amazing! Shenzhen, I miss you!” he exclaimed at the end of the video.