Seventytwo meters above Shenzhen’s coastline, a café offers visitors panoramic views of the Pearl River Estuary as ships drift by. But this is no ordinary café. It sits atop the chimney of a facility that processes over 2,600 tons of garbage every day – the Nanshan Energy Ecological Park, one of the world’s most technologically advanced waste-to-energy (WTE) plants.

Every week, a dedicated group of people equipped with brushes and drawing gear heads into Shenzhen’s various corners. Through quick sketches, they capture everyday scenes that often go unnoticed, rediscovering neighborhoods and breathing new life into familiar surroundings.

As Shenzhen celebrates the third National Child-care Service Publicity Month, themed “Affordable Child Care, Scientific Parenting,” the city continues its push to ease the burden on young parents, many of whom are entering the prime years for starting families.

The World Conference on Sinology 2025, themed “Understanding China: Sinologies in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” opened in Shenzhen on Friday, marking the first time the conference has been held in the city since its inception in 2007.