The area continued to increase due to large scale land reclamation, especially in Qianhai and Houhai.

Mountainous areas like Tanglangshan and Yangtaishan to the north and Nanshan Park to the south are largely preserved as forests.

Nanshan was largely a rural area before being rapidly developed since the late 1970s, with the exception of a few towns and villages.

[8][9][10][11][12] The South China office of CR Beverage is in on the 10th floor of the Min Tai Building (闽泰大厦) in the district.

[12] China Nepstar has its headquarters in the Xinnengyuan Building (新能源大厦 / 新能源大廈) on Nanhai Road, Nanshan District.

[14] The drink company Hey Tea has its headquarters in the Aerospace Science And Technology Square (航天科技广场).

Upon scheduled completion in 2020, special policies including lower taxation rates would be implemented in the new district.

Eight of Shenzhen's eleven full-time universities are located in Nanshan:[17] The Chinese word Zhongxue 中学, rendered in English as "middle school," may refer to either schools with grade 7-9 lower secondary levels and/or grade 10-12 upper secondary levels.

Dr. Elisabeth P. Montgomery, Senior Advisor on Internationalization for the Nanshan District Education Bureau, is the first foreigner to hold such a position in China.

Several of these high schools all offer British, University of Cambridge International A-Level or North American style curricula, with English as the main language of instruction.