Shenzhen Mayor Xu Qin said the city would invest CNY105 billion in 60 huge projects to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), including cheap housing, schools, hospitals, infrastructure and industrial parks. “The special zone should … keep being special, being good, being innovative, being one-up and being the doer,” Premier Wen Jiabao said during an inspection tour. In June the expansion of the special economic zone from 395 sq km to 1,948 sq km was approved, which means it will be nearly twice the size of Hong Kong. City authorities saw that as a big gift, allowing them more power and opportunity for reform. Special policies allowed by the central government were the key to transforming Shenzhen from a small fishing village three decades ago into a modern city with almost nine million people. The city now plans to become a pioneer in political and civil reform, as it is no longer special in economic terms. It plans to become a world-class metropolis by 2020.