In April 2026, Shenzhen’s first cross-border e-commerce OPC community was unveiled in Kangli City, Longgang District.
Many netizens shared their experience of doing cross-border e-commerce in their spare time in Longgang District, Shenzhen on social platforms, saying that “doing cross-border e-commerce in Longgang is like being on the fast lane.” This also illustrates the transformation of Longgang’s cross-border e-commerce from “testing the waters as a side business” to “a pillar industry.”
The fate of Longgang and cross-border e-commerce began in Huaqiangbei 20 years ago.
At that time, cross-border e-commerce practitioners used the image of “backpackers” and “mom-and-pop partners” to sell mobile phone cases, tempered films, data cables and other “Made in China” products around the world through overseas platforms such as Amazon and eBay through Shenzhen’s developed electronic manufacturing supply chain at stalls of a few square meters.
This is the period of “barbaric growth” of cross-border e-commerce. One person can start it with a computer and make money by relying on information gaps.
As the scale of the industry expanded, rents in Huaqiangbei became a bottleneck. Around 2008, a large number of cross-border e-commerce sellers moved eastward to Bantian and Pinghu areas in Longgang, where costs are low, space is sufficient and the logistics network is convenient, meeting the warehousing and delivery needs of cross-border sellers.
However, at this stage, cross-border e-commerce has a strong “sideline” character in Longgang, with practitioners mostly working “part-time” and occupying a marginal position in the region’s industrial structure.
In 2012, the e-commerce industrial park was established in Pinghu China South City, which became a milestone in the history of cross-border e-commerce in Longgang.
This park of nearly 300,000 square meters has received industry spillover dividends with low rents and complete supporting facilities, and a group of grassroots sellers have grown rapidly.
During the same period, the “China South City Four” and the “Sakata Five” emerged in the industry, expanding the market with a massive distribution model.
From 2016 to 2024, Longgang cross-border e-commerce will usher in a critical period of transition from ‘side business’ to ‘main business’.
In terms of policy, Longgang has successively introduced supportive policies to help industrial enterprises and traditional cross-border e-commerce brands go overseas.
The industrial supporting facilities are constantly improving, and three national-level e-commerce demonstration bases, Pinghu China South City, Bantian Galaxy WORLD, and Nanwan Kangli City, have taken shape, forming a full-chain ecology.
Leading companies have also realized transformation. For example, SV Times has shifted from a ‘distribution model’ to a ‘premium model’, incubating multiple own brands and listing in A-shares; Aoji Technology has moved from OEM manufacturing to brand overseas, with revenue exceeding 10.7 billion yuan; Lamicu Technology focuses on intelligent ergonomic products, with more than 30 million users worldwide.
During this period, cross-border e-commerce’s “sideline gene” faded away, showing characteristics of scale, branding, and standardization, and its status in the region’s industrial system increased.
In the past two years, Longgang’s cross-border e-commerce industry has reached a new level.
Shenzhen ranks first in the global Amazon seller city rankings, and Longgang is the area where cross-border sellers are concentrated in the city.
As one of the six future 100-billion-level industries in Longgang’s ‘4 + 6 + N’ modern industrial system, cross-border e-commerce is reshaping Longgang’s industrial landscape.
On the brand side, companies have shifted from ‘selling products’ to ‘selling brands’. Many Longgang brands have been listed in the “Top 100 Most Influential Chinese Cross-border E-commerce Brands”.
On the technology side, AI has become a new productive force. Bantian’s cross-border e-commerce company Yibai Network has upgraded its operating model and its annual revenue has increased to nearly 10 billion yuan. In March 2026, Longgang’s first ‘cross-border e-commerce comprehensive empowerment center’ was launched.
On the model side, Shenzhen’s first cross-border e-commerce OPC community was unveiled in Longgang Kangli City in April 2026.
At present, the Longgang cross-border e-commerce operation center is located in Nanwan, multiple cross-border e-commerce platforms have set up merchant service centers in Longgang, and enterprises in the jurisdiction have deployed multiple provincial-level public overseas warehouses.
Today, the new story of Longgang cross-border e-commerce is still being written.
