To be fair to Gibson, the Shemzhen SEZ had just about been started when he wrote Neuromancer. As I understand it Japan at that time had an underground electron

To be fair to Gibson, the Shemzhen SEZ had just about been started when he wrote Neuromancer. As I understand it Japan at that time had an underground electronics scene in Tokyo - though of course nothing to the scale of Huaqiangbei. I wonder if the market is still functional post Covid. Been a few years since i visited it. Definitely one of the wonders of the post modern world.