Shenzhen

Introduction

Shenzhen is a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) just across the border from Hong Kong, in China's Guangdong Province. It saw spectactular growth from the 1980's onwards, growing from a village to one of the biggest cities in China. Now a thriving metropolis with many dense skyscrapers, shop and technology companies.
It is also one of the richest with lots of business and trading going on. Being South China's financial centre, it is home to the Shenzhen stock exchange, one of only 3 trading in China.

Sights and Activities

• Window of the World is a somewhat tacky tourist attraction. 130 miniture reproductions of the world's most famous sights are presented here. A cheap way to visit the world. (RMB120)
• ShenZhen Splendid China Folk Culture Village displays the life of China's 56 ethnic minorities.
• Xichong beach

Events and Festivals

Shenzhen celebrates the same festivals that are common throughout the rest of China, including:

• Chinese New Year or Spring Festival
• Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival

Weather

Weather is comparable with that of neighbouring Hong Kong with hot and humid summers from May to September (monsoon season as well) and cooler (but still not cold) winters from December to February. March - April and October - November are pleasant times for a visit.

Getting There

By Plane

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) has flights to most destinations throughout China. It is more economical flying to/from Shenzhen compared to Hong Kong, especially regarding domestic flights.
Low-cost airline Air Asia has daily flights to/from Kuala Lumpur (~RMB1,000, 4 hours), Kota Kinabalu (~RMB1,500, 4 hours) and Bangkok (~RMB900, 4 hours).

To/from the airport

• Bus: Regular bus and minibus services link the airport with the rest of the city. Intercity bus services to some other nearby cities such as Hong Kong and Dongguan are also available. To get to/from the airport there is a regular bus service from the main bus station next to the train station taking 1 hour. Buses currently run every half an hour from 7:30am to 5:00pm at the Hong Kong side, and from 10:00am to 9:00pm at the Shenzhen side.
• Local taxis, and often some taxis from Dongguan, pick up passengers there.
• Boat: TurboJET also operates fast ferries to Kowloon (Hong Kong), Macau and the Hong Kong International Airport at the nearby Fuyong Pier. Free shuttle buses connect the Pier and the airport.

By Train

Frequent trains go to Guangzhou and you can choose between highspeed trains (less than an hour, RMB75) or local trains (about 2 hours). Trains to Hong Kong leave frequently. The border with Hong Kong can also be crossed by foot.

By Bus

There are regular services to Chaozhou (5 hours), Guangzhou (1,5 hours), Shantou (4 hours), Xiamen (8 hours) and Zhongshan (1,5 hours). Hong Kong is a short hop away or can be reached on foot from the bus station.

By Boat

Fast ferries go 13 times daily to Hong Kong with about half of them continuing to Macau.
There are hourly services to the airport of Hong Kong as well. These all leave from Shekou, Shenzhen's port.
From Shenzhen airport, there are 6 daily services to Hong Kong and 3 to Macau.
Zhuhai has ferries roughly every half hour (taking one hour). Boats go all the way to Haikou, taking 18 hours.

Sleep

Budget

Keep Connected

Internet

There are many internet cafes to be found where many of the local people play computer games. Internet typically costs RMB 1-3 per hour.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

SIM cards can be cheaply from one of the many mobile phone outlets in the city. Some carriers incur a roaming fee if used outside of Guangdong province and should be aware before making calls (although rates are still cheap by western standards).

Post

China Post (中国邮政) is the official postal service of the People's Republic of China, operated by the State Postal Bureau of the People's Republic of China (website in Chinese only), and has more details about price to send letters, postcards and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally. The Chinese postal service is very good. Remember that in more remote places usually only one post office in a city can handle sending international boxes or letters. Also many times it might be worth having the name of the country you are trying to send to in Chinese characters. Post offices have a striking green logo and can easily be found everywhere in the cities. They are mostly open every day (including weekends!) from 8:00am to 6:00pm, though small offices might have shorter opening times, while the bigger ones in central and touristic areas are sometimes open during evenings as well. The maximum weight they can ship is 30kg. If sending abroad, remember to include the destination country in Chinese characters or it may not be delivered.