Dawang's calm appearance belies concerns about future

On a Friday afternoon in early April, I boarded a bus to Dawang village in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

The village sits at the foot of Wutong Mountain, the highest point in the city, and on weekends and holidays, hordes of Shenzhen residents visit to climb the mountain and breathe the clean air.

Unlike many urban villages scattered around Shenzhen, Dawang is removed from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. The long, spiraling mountain road that leads to the village ensures that the jarring noise of the city is kept at bay. The place is a hidden paradise.

I got off the bus when it stopped at the entrance of the village. I was deeply impressed by the scene in front of me. Not only could I see the majestic Wutong Mountain, but a huge reservoir also appeared before my eyes. The view was so beautiful and charming. I felt as though I was visiting a really interesting place.

In the village, four 50-something men were sitting around a stone table, playing poker. A few meters away, several women were playing with their children on the recreational facilities. Not far away, a taxi was parked outside an auto repair shop, and two men in blue shirts were changing the tires in unhurried fashion.

Everyone in Dawang looked relaxed. It has a slow, leisurely life-style that contrasts sharply with mainstream life in Shenzhen, which revolves around work, fast food and nightlife.

I saw few people as I walked along the main road. A row of private cars was parked along the road, and there were various businesses, including supermarkets, eateries, pharmacies and clothes shops. Residents don't need to leave the village to buy necessities because all their basic needs can be met by local retailers.

The architecture mostly consists of six-story buildings, each with decades of history. Some are woshoulou, a term used to describe buildings built so close to each other that the occupants can lean out of the windows and shake hands with their neighbors across the street.

Hou Qinghong, a taxi driver from Youxian, told me that living conditions in Shenzhen's urban villages are poor, but the cost of living is low.

I met Hou in Dawang as I was looking for a taxi to return to the city center. He had just visited a friend and was about to leave the village and start work. He gave me a ride, and we talked all the way back to the downtown.

"When I came here in 2003, I lived with a friend in a two-bedroom apartment in Shixia village. The rent was 600 yuan ($93) a month back then. Now, I live with my 25-year-old son in a 35-square-meter, one-bedroom apartment in Shixia, but the rent is 1,850 yuan a month," he said.

Unlike many taxi drivers from Youxian, Hou is determined to stay in the sector.

"At present, the cab-hailing business is far more profitable than driving a taxi, but it's still unregulated. Who knows how it will turn out when the government formulates rules for the new industry and Didi Chuxing stops subsidizing car drivers?" he mused.