Shenzhen (深圳) is located in the south of Guangdong province straddling the Mainland China’s border with Hong Kong. Despite being China’s most affluent city, Shenzhen is often overlooked by travellers. This border boomtown is, not surprisingly, usually regarded only as a symbol of China’s economic reform. Due to government policies and its geographical location, Shenzhen went from being a small fishing village to a bustling metropolis of 10 million people in the space of twenty years. Nonetheless, Shenzhen has more to offer the traveller than just an example of the dizzying speed of progress that China has been making since the 1980s. It is a diverse city peopled by immigrants from all over the country with great restaurants, bars, clubs, shops, scenic areas and, if you dig deep enough, even historical and cultural attractions. Shenzhen is still growing and still developing an identity. Its nascent character makes it difficult to define. Now, with Synotrip as your guide, staying in Shenzhen for a few days and discovering what lies beneath the surface of this unique city will be easier and more rewarding.
Shenzhen Shopping
Shenzhen’s wealthy residents and the thousands of Hong Kong bargain hunters pouring in everyday looking for food products, home appliances, clothing, jewellery and who knows what else, create a demand for shops that the city meets with a vengeance. Shenzhen is a shopper’s paradise. From designer fashion to street stall threads, international brands to local products, the mundane to the exotic, if it can’t be bought in Shenzhen, it probably can’t be bought anywhere.
Competition in the retail sector is stiff. Salespeople call their wares from shop entrances and employ touts, blaring music and discounts to net more customers (as well as erecting mini-shrines to Buddhist and other Chinese deities to help them succeed in business). Even if you are not in the market for anything, shopping in Shenzhen, especially in the markets and street shops, can be considered as one of the city’s attractions and an education in the Chinese appetite for commerce and consumption.
Shenzhen Tourist Attractions
Travel guidebooks often, unfairly, overlook Shenzhen as a new city that offers little in the way of attractions . New it may be, but to suggest it has nothing to offer the visitor is ridiculous. Its very youth means it has an impressive array of awards for its urban design and greenery. Nature lovers will not be disappointed with the several gorgeous parks and scenic areas in and around Shenzhen. However, the city also has a history; there has been some form of urban settlement in the area since the 4th Century and the evidence remains in the form of temples, forts, and other types of architecture. These historical relics may not be immediately obvious on arrival but this makes their discovery all the more pleasurabl
Shenzhen Restaurants
Visitors to Shenzhen would be forgiven for concluding that the only thing the residents of the city do is stuff themselves. Restaurants, of all shapes and sizes, are packed into every corner of the city and are buzzing with diners from the early morning to late into the night.
For Western food, Shenzhen might not be able to match Beijing and Shanghai but it has a good selection of Japanese, Thai and Indian cuisine. When it comes to Chinese restaurants, Shenzhen can hold its own against any city in the country. Its diverse Chinese population means that every type of Chinese cuisine is represented here, with the flavours of Canton, Sichuan, the North, Hakka, Hainan and Yunnan being the strongest.
