Why go
Shenzhen has no Forbidden City — its attractions are modern: enormous malls, tech museums, and a creative district culture that no other Chinese city matches. It's also the easiest place in China to enter or leave via Hong Kong.
The food scene is genuinely Cantonese plus everything China's migrants brought with them — Hunan, Sichuan and northeast dumplings all have devoted neighbourhoods.
- Dafen Oil Painting Village — browse a street of artists' studios
- OCT Loft — industrial warehouses turned galleries and cafes
- Hike the seaside plank path at Dameisha
- See the full skyline from Lianhua Hill at sunset
Where to go
OCT-Loft for art and cafes, the Design Society at Shekou for world-class design museums, Dafen for a quirky painting souvenir, and the Dameisha–Xiaomeisha coastal boardwalk when the weather is clear. The Shenzhen Museum is excellent and free.
Practical notes
All payments are mobile-first — set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before arriving. Shenzhen is the testbed for cashless China, and many small shops genuinely do not accept cash.
Getting there
- Metro from Bao'an Airport to downtown in ~40 min
- Population
- ~17 million
- Founded
- 1980 (SEZ)
- To Hong Kong
- 45 min by high-speed rail
