WITNESSING THE RISE OF THE GREATER BAY AREA

Zhang Yan

Shenzhen has given Caleb Ye a unique perspective on the integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

In 2014， the Shenzhen municipal government proposed to develop the “bay area economy” to accelerate GuangdongHong Kong-Macao regional cooperation， after which Caleb Ye began receiving more information and news about Shenzhen while living in Hong Kong.

A Hong Kong citizen， Ye moved to Shenzhen in Guangdong Province at the end of the year. “I heard about the city on the news occasionally，” he recalled. “I learned that the Chinese mainland was undergoing rapid development， and because Shenzhen was so close to Hong Kong， my wife and I decided to try our luck there.”

The couple had no idea that their choice would enable them to witness and participate in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Blending in from ‘Boxing-out’Caleb Ye and his wife moved to Shenzhen in the summer of 2015. Ye’s wife had experience as an English teacher， so their friends on the mainland helped her find a teaching job. “When my wife’s students learned that I used to coach basketball， theyrecommended job opportunities to me，” he said.“I managed to find my first jobin Shenzhen thanks to their help.”

“It did not take long for me to realizethat Shenzhen was teeming with jobopportunities， and many were secure.”Ye is now a basketball coach at auniversity in Shenzhen and also helpsout at basketball training for both adultsand teenagers.“I barely realized themilestone after I had been living in thiscity for seven years.”

When he first started coachingbasketball in Shenzhen， Ye encounteredsome language problems because ofcultural differences between Hong Kongand the Chinese mainland. He was notfluent in standard Chinese or familiarwith the basketball jargon which isdifferent from that used in Hong Kong.

“In Hong Kong we tend to useEnglish terms， and the terms usuallyhave corresponding Chinese words，”he explained.“For example， we usethe word‘box-out’to describe optimalpositioning for a rebound. But I didnot know how to say that in Chinese.My students were confused aboutthe phrases I said， and I could notunderstand the Chinese terms. So at firstit was difficult for me to communicatewith my students.” After a while， Ye andhis students began understanding eachother， and Ye eventually became fluentin“translated” basketball jargon.

“The cultural differences also createdopportunities，” said Ye. He quicklynoticed how different mainlandbasketball training was to what he hadseen in Hong Kong.

“The coaches here focus more onstrengthening physical agility and skills，which means that no matter what levelthe players are at， they need to practicea single movement or a skill repeatedlyto achieve proficiency，” Ye explained.“But in Hong Kong， coaches do moreanalytical and targeted training. Theyteach students to develop their ownstrategies and training plans accordingto their opponents’strengths.” Ye addedthat alongside coaching moves andskills， Hong Kong teachers consider thetraining of strategic thinking equallyimportant.

Ye improved his training approachesbased on these differences. He introduced “strategic thinking training” to his class as part of diverse training models to avoid repetitive and lowefficiency practices. “The feedback was good，” he beamed. “Students found the classes innovative and became more focused and engaged.” Ye’s classes became popular because of his unique diverse training approach.

“I grew up in Hong Kong， where schools tend to adopt Western education model，” he said. “But as a Chinese person， I could also understand education practices on the Chinese mainland.” Ye considered his ability to make his classes more eclectic by absorbing high-quality resources and advanced education philosophies from both education models a big advantage.

“Observation Program”When the Chinese government released Outline Development Planfor the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in February 2019， Ye had already been in Shenzhen for five years. “When I first arrived， the concept of the ‘Greater Bay Area’ was just a strategic plan，” he recalled. “After five years， the grand plan was finally implemented.” As a Hong Kong citizen living in Shenzhen， Ye witnessed the changes and development of the region up-close.

Ye would observe and record such changes as part of his “observation program” in daily life. He remembered that when he first came to Shenzhen， he needed a Mainland Travel Permit to buy air tickets or railway tickets. At that time， most automatic verification machines could not yet check the travel permits， so travelers like Ye had to spend a lot of time waiting in queues.

“In 2018， mainland cities began issuing residence permits for Hong Kong， Macao， and Taiwan residents，after which time I didn’t have to gothrough all that，” Ye said.“It saved tons of time.”

Ye has tracked the massive changes in Shenzhen in his seven years there.“Forexample， in recent years， the Shenzhen government has been encouragingyoung people from Hong Kong， Macao，and Taiwan to start businesses on themainland，” he said.“Local authoritiesrolled out various subsidy projects andcorresponding policies or measuresto attract talent and build a completesystem to secure jobs and businessesfor young people.”

Ye has seen the effectiveness of themeasures. He has seen more and moreHong Kong youth moving to Shenzhen， particularly in the last three years. Many of his young friends in Hong Kong arealso considering launching businessesin mainland cities. When they inquired about life on the mainland， Ye wouldpatiently answer their questions anddispense his best advice.“The mainland government has friendly policies tohelp Hong Kong people come to workor do business，” he said.“Life on themainland has become quite convenient for Hong Kong people.”

Ye’s observations of the differences between past and present life onthe mainland gave him a newunderstanding of mainland life ingeneral.

“Only after arriving in Shenzhen didI realize that women on the mainlandface greater pressure than men becausethey have to balance their career andfamily life，” he said.“In Hong Kong， Ihad never thought about this because Ihad not seen or felt it.” Ye gained a better understanding of the social situationwomen navigate， and his respect forwomen in the workforce grew.“Thishas also been a big growth experiencefor me.”

After the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in early 2020， Ye’s family andfriends in Hong Kong were deeplyconcerned about the couple’s situationin Shenzhen. Ye kept in touch withthem on the internet and shared thelatest information on the pandemic and local situation.

Ye has paid close attention tothe epidemic in both the mainlandand Hong Kong， and has his ownperspectives about the pandemic-control measures the local authoritieshave introduced.“The Shenzhengovernment and the health department are very efficient at allocating resources， which gives them a big advantage intackling big public health emergencieslike the coronavirus pandemic，” hesaid.“In the long term， we also needmore objective understanding of thevirus and to ponder ways to balancepandemic control， economic growth，and social stability.”

Open and Inclusive

Shenzhen is an open and inclusivecity， and reform and opening up hasbeen intertwined with its historicdevelopment. People from across China and even the globe live and work inShenzhen， facilitating communication and integration of diverse cultures.Construction of the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area makesit even more attractive for Hong Kongcitizens to work and start businessesin Shenzhen because of geographicalproximity and similar culturaltraditions.

Ye describes himself asunderstanding the inherent differences between the mainland and Hong Kongin an“inclusive” way.“It is true that thetwo places have differences， but that isnot a problem，” he said.“I never felt a‘culture shock’by moving to Shenzhen. I left Hong Kong， a city I knew， and came to Shenzhen to get to know a new city. I talked with friends from the mainlandand gained a clearer understandingof the two cities’differences and theunderlying reasons.”

Ye added that he did not need todevelop a new appetite for local food because there was little differencebetween the food in Hong Kong andShenzhen.

Ye’s leisure hobby is talking withrandom people he meets. He alwayswants to hear and learn history and the current political situation， as well asthe cultures， of the Chinese mainland.He believes that only through extensive communication and comprehensivelearning can people understand eachother and get along.

“I tend to disagree with my mainland friends’biases against Hong Kong，” hesaid.“So similarly， I hope to reach anobjective understanding and evaluation of the mainland， which requires me tomeet and communicate with mainland friends and find out what they think.”

Ye revealed his future plans byclaiming he and his wife are quite “Buddha-like” （a Chinese buzzword todescribe those who favor peaceful and tranquil life）.“Our work is quite stableat present， so we are taking a steadystroll towards a happy and cozy life，” he said.

Ye added that he has been luckyto grow up in a time when themainland and Hong Kong weredeveloping in tandem.“It gives me a sense of responsibility，” he asserted. “Particularly， as a Hong Kong citizen who lives on the mainland， I hopeto facilitate mutual understandingbetween Hong Kong people andmainland friends all around me.”

Ye proudly hung a painting offlamingos a student made for himand his wife as a Christmas gift in hisliving room. He likes the work because it expresses his mainland friend’s loveand kindness to them.“I still remember what my student said when he gave the painting to me，” said Ye.“He said thatflamingos symbolize love and freedom， and he thought my wife and I wereembodiments of that.”