Tech giants haven't been the only ones to see the potential of Shenzhen, with thousands of enterprises taking advantage of progressive policies

Editor's note: As the People's Republic of China prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Oct 1, China Daily is featuring a series of stories on the role regions have played in the country's development and where they are today.

Tech giant Tencent's rapid growth in recent decades has mirrored that of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, but the company's founder still remembers when the city seemed like a quiet backwater.

"When I first visited the city with my parents in the 1980s, Shenzhen was more like a fishing village and a wetland, with mountains and seas surrounding it," said Ma Huateng, chairman and CEO of Tencent Holdings.

Ma, now 47, was only 13 years old then, but his company's fortunes have shadowed those of the former "fishing village".

In 1998 he established Tencent at an old building in the Huaqiangbei area of Shenzhen. One year later, Tencent's managers attended the first China Hi-tech Fair, looking for international investors to back the fledgling company.