What do I need to do in order to replicate Shenzhen in <5 years?

I will say you need everything Quora User mentioned, plus another thing

a Hong Kong, next door.

That is : a giant international merchant city with a huge and active harbor, a deep-rooted culture of trade, a solid and well-known international law system, an English-speaking administration, a growing industrial fabric and, well, a banking system where total secrecy and tax-free money is totally okay.

By the twisted ways of History, the British opium trade plays a very important role in the existence of Shenzhen today.

This text was originally published in quora.