Humans of Shenzhen
UNVEILING SILENT STORIES
Voice+Place+People+Empowerment
Voice
Welcome to Humans of Shenzhen, a Chinese high school students' alliance dedicated to empowering the voices of migrant workers in Shenzhen and beyond.
Place
Shenzhen, a vibrant migrant city in Southern China, the house of the greatest number of migrant workers among China's metropolises. Four decades of rapid economic development transformed Shenzhen from a small fishing village to a global megacity, leaving spaces of negotiation between tradition and modernity, equity and efficiency, management and labor, environment and development, state regulation and free market, the global and the local...Rising skyscrapers overshadows urban villages, home of millions of migrant workers, while to gentrified communities pressures factories to relocate, threatening entire migrant worker communities' employment. On a daily basis, migrant workers navigate these tensions, changes, and paradoxes characteristic of Shenzhen. With its economic prosperity, cultural diversity, and inclusive spirit, Shenzhen is often termed "China's Manhattan."
People
Through street portraits and interview series, we strive to amplify the voices of China's migrant workers, shed light on social and policy issues, and promote community engagement. Their voices are raw, authentic, sometimes filled with grief, but often laden with hopes, optimism, and community-based local wisdom built on decades of navigating Shenzhen's streets and corners. Also dive into our diverse range of blogs, captivating series, heartwarming wall of kindness, informative news page, engaging forum, and a unique space for individuals to share their stories and initiatives.
Empowerment
Often disadvantaged in terms of socioeconomic resources, migrant workers in Shenzhen and other megacities often struggle to defend themself against labor and environmental torts. Our impact wall features student initiatives that aims to publicize and promote knowledge and resources to empower migrant workers, making legal, social, and financial resources more accessible and available. We strive towards the realization of the famous quote that captures Shenzhen's diversity and inclusivity, a realization that many Shenzhen migrant-residents dream of but find distant: "来了，就是深圳人" ("If you come to Shenzhen, we'll welcome you as a Shenzhen-ese.")
Albert Ziqian Wang
Founder, CEO
Albert is a senior studying at Basis International School Park Lane Harbor. A Shenzhen migrant with rural roots, he has worked at Shenzhen's garment factories, lived in Shenzhen's urban villages, rode through Shenzhen's subway network, and volunteered at Shenzhen's Service Center for the Disabled. With a passion for storytelling and community empowerment, Albert launched Humans of Shenzhen in 2023 to amplify the untold narratives of the migrant workers in Shenzhen. Since then, he has given five talks, wrote three papers, and published a dozen op-eds on China's migrant worker population and the socioeconomic challenges they face, such as the Hukou system ("geographic apartheid"). In 2025, Albert published his book The Horizon Belongs to Strangers: Migrant Workers and the Making of Shenzhen, compiling 11 original migrant worker biographies. Beyond activism, Albert enjoys hiking on Shenzhen's various mountains, performing Xiangsheng, and playing vibraphones.
MEMBER SCHOOLS
We are a team of students and clubs from 8 schools in Southern China, committed to social and environmental activism that focuses on the authentic experience of human beings and on bringing positive change that starts small -- around us and in our community.
