In the City Where a Floor Rises Every Three Days: Shenzhen’s New Miracles That Feel Straight Out of a Sci-Fi Movie

Once celebrated as the “city that builds one floor in three days,” Shenzhen has now evolved into something far beyond speed — a living laboratory where technology and humanity meet. What was once the symbol of China’s construction miracle is now becoming the stage for stories that sound almost too futuristic to be real.

The Birthplace of “Shenzhen Speed”

Back in the 1980s, the Shenzhen World Trade Center set a new record by completing one floor every three days. At that time, the feat seemed unbelievable. The construction team adopted an innovative sliding formwork system that allowed them to pour a new layer of structure every 72 hours.

Rising 160 meters above the ground, the building became China’s first super high-rise, holding the title of the tallest in the nation for nearly a decade. It also gave birth to the term “Shenzhen speed” — a phrase that came to symbolize not just rapid construction, but the spirit of relentless innovation and progress.

Today, that spirit lives on — only this time, it’s not measured in concrete and steel, but in data, drones, and digital breakthroughs.

 Life-Saving Drones: The City’s New Lifeline

During the Lunar New Year holiday of 2025, a dramatic scene unfolded at the Shenzhen Eastern-Western Medicine Hospital. A woman was bleeding heavily, and the city’s late-night traffic jam made it impossible for the blood delivery vehicle to reach her in time.

Within minutes, four medical drones were dispatched from the city’s central blood bank — located 39 kilometers away. They took off in three waves, cutting through the night sky. Less than an hour later, the blood arrived safely, and the emergency operation went smoothly.

This wasn’t a one-time miracle. Since March 2023, a network of 543 medical drones has been operating across Shenzhen. Free from road congestion, these drones can slash delivery time by more than half. By early 2025, they had completed over 10,000 blood transport missions, each potentially saving a life.

In February 2024, the city officially integrated drone delivery into its emergency response system — a plan that took two years of preparation and close collaboration between government agencies and tech enterprises.

By 2026, Shenzhen aims to establish 1,200 smart takeoff and landing points, creating a three-dimensional logistics network capable of handling not only blood and medicine, but even organ transplants in the future.

A Giant Laboratory for Human-Centered Technology

Shenzhen’s ambition doesn’t stop at drones. In a tech company tucked away in Longgang District, a pair of “iron hands” is redefining the limits of robotics.

At first glance, they look like cold, metallic tools. But beneath the surface lie thousands of ultra-sensitive sensors capable of perceiving temperature, pressure, softness, and even texture. These robotic hands can collect information across 15 dimensions — a marvel developed by Pasini Perception Technologies, a startup founded just four years ago.

The technology isn’t confined to labs. These robotic hands are now part of everyday life — helping nursing robots gently lift elderly patients, or inspecting manufacturing lines to detect microscopic flaws on surfaces just by touch.

This is the essence of Shenzhen’s new identity: the entire city functions as a massive innovation laboratory, where ideas are tested, refined, and integrated directly into daily life.

The Secret Behind Shenzhen’s Success

How does one city continue to generate such a stream of “impossible” innovations?
The answer lies in Shenzhen’s unique innovation ecosystem — built on three pillars: funding, talent, and human-centered purpose.

First, the city provides strong financial support. Shenzhen has established numerous venture and innovation funds, ensuring that promising ideas don’t die in the lab due to lack of capital.

Second, it boasts one of the highest concentrations of skilled professionals in China — over 26,000 high-level experts, with an average of 12 tech enterprises per square kilometer.

And third, innovation here always circles back to people. Technology is not just for efficiency or profit, but to solve everyday problems — from healthcare and elderly care to public safety and environmental monitoring.

From Speed to Soul

Decades ago, “Shenzhen speed” referred to construction cranes and concrete walls racing toward the sky. Today, it describes something else: the speed at which ideas become reality, and how innovation meets compassion.

The same city that once built skyscrapers faster than anyone else is now building a smarter, kinder world — one drone flight, one robotic hand, one life saved at a time.

Adam Lee