A Maserati parked like a time machine — gleaming, low-slung, and impossibly aerodynamic — drew a crowd at the north wing plaza of the Baoneng All City mall in Shekou, where Italian flair met Chinese curiosity at the Chinese/Italian Artists Exchange Program that kicked off Saturday afternoon.

When Alan Macfarlane first set foot in Shenzhen a decade ago, his mind’s eye, shaped by a career studying the gritty realities of 19th-century British industrial history, prepared him for the worst.

On July 28, the Central Government announced the introduction of the childcare subsidy program, which came into effect Jan. 1, 2025. It offers a monthly payment of 300 yuan (US$42.11) per child for those under 3 years old. The total of the subsidy for children born in January 2025 and after is 10,800 yuan over a three-year period.

To mark the 45th anniversary of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, a new video series is turning to an unexpected group of storytellers — the city’s international residents — who are revealing the history behind diplomatic gifts sent to Shenzhen from their home countries.