Two days is the honest length. Shenzhen has no old town and does not pretend to; what it has is a skyline built inside one lifetime, a warehouse art district, a coastline the metro reaches, and food from every part of Guangdong because everyone here came from somewhere else. Take it as a city to eat in and look at rather than a city to tick off.
At a glance
- Day 1Lianhuashan Park → the civic centre → OCT-LOFT
- Day 2Dameisha → Shenzhen Bay → Shekou
Day 1
Towers, a park, and a converted factory
Lianhuashan Park → the civic centre → OCT-LOFT
Climb Lianhuashan first — it is a small hill in the middle of Futian and the view from the top lines up the civic centre and the Ping An tower behind it, which is the photograph that explains this city faster than any museum. OCT-LOFT in the afternoon is an electronics factory turned into galleries, bookshops and coffee, and the best few hours in Shenzhen for anyone who has had enough of towers. Eat Chaoshan beef hotpot in the evening: clear broth, beef sliced by cut and timed by the second.
Day 2
The coast, at the end of the line
Dameisha → Shenzhen Bay → Shekou
Dameisha is the beach everyone names and in season it is shoulder to shoulder with a booking system attached; Jidiaosha and Beizaijiao further round the same coast are free, clearer and nearly empty, and locals send people there instead. Shenzhen Bay Park in the late afternoon is ten kilometres of waterfront path looking straight across at Hong Kong — go between half five and seven for the sunset and take the metro to Houhai, because at midday it is unshaded and at weekends the cycling rules are enforced. Finish at Shekou, the old port district, with ferries to Hong Kong airport and Macau from the terminal.
Eat like you mean it
- Chaoshan beef hotpotClear broth, beef sliced by cut, each one timed to the second. Nothing like Sichuan hotpot.
- Morning tea / dim sumCantonese habits arrived with the population. Go before eleven.
- Hakka dishesSalt-baked chicken, stuffed tofu, pork belly with preserved greens.
- Dapeng seafoodOut at the eastern peninsula, chosen from a tank and steamed simply.
- Cantonese seafoodThe default celebration meal here, and priced by weight.
- Bubble teaThe city runs on it. There is a shop on the ground floor of everything.
Where to stay
- Futian CBD · Shopping ParkCentral, on several metro lines, and closest to the Hong Kong checkpoints.
- Nanshan · Overseas Chinese TownNearest OCT-LOFT and the nicest part of the city to walk in.
- Luohu · DongmenThe oldest part of town, cheapest beds, and a border crossing at the station.
- Shekou · Sea WorldWaterfront, ferries to Hong Kong airport and Macau, and a lot of restaurants.
Before you go
- The metro reaches several Hong Kong checkpoints, and crossing on foot takes about half an hour when it is quiet. Shenzhen is the cheap night either side of a Hong Kong trip.
- Take the metro from the airport and from Shenzhen North. Ride-hailing from both runs a heavy surcharge and the detours are a local complaint, and the train is a few yuan.
- Skip Dameisha in season for Jidiaosha or Beizaijiao further along the coast: free, clearer water, and a fraction of the people.
- Shenzhen Bay Park is for the last two hours of daylight. At midday there is no shade at all, and cycling rules on the path are enforced at weekends.
- Window of the World is half price after six, which is also when the heat goes and the light show starts. Daytime is the expensive way to see it.
- Buy electronics in Huaqiangbei only from the authorised floors. What is sold on the pavement outside is refurbished at new prices.
- Shenzhen has no old town. If you want one, Guangzhou is thirty minutes away by fast train.
One honest thing — This is the easiest border crossing in China: the metro runs to several Hong Kong checkpoints and the walk through takes half an hour on a quiet day. It makes Shenzhen a sensible first or last night of a Hong Kong trip.
