The overwhelming majority of Shenzhen residents are migrants and the influx of migrants is continuing. Shenzhen is also one of the only two Chinese cities that have residents from the country's 56 ethnic groups.

The 28-year-old Shenzhen is a young city, and a city of young people, with the average age being 30.8. Shenzhen is also a city with well-educated residents, having one-sixth of the country's PhDs. The proportion of residents having a higher education background ranks it among the first in the country. Good development opportunities, effective incentive mechanisms and a high-quality living environment are the reasons why the city is still attracting talented people from home and abroad. In the past two decades, Shenzhen has educated or attracted 600,000 Chinese and overseas professionals.

Shenzhen, as a city of migrants, has created a culture of migrants. Different cultural backgrounds and identities forge the characteristics unique to a society of migrants: youthfulness, vigor, mobility, tolerance and pluralism. As a neighbor of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is prone to the influence of the Hong Kong and Taiwan cultures and Western culture. The exchange and convergence of different cultures, like Oriental and Western cultures, modern and traditional cultures, coastal and continental cultures, lead to the openness, tolerance and creativeness of Shenzhen's culture. Creative awareness comes with the city.