40 years old is not confusing for life, but it is too young for a city. Shenzhen, which is unique in the Pearl River Delta, has the city label of “inclusiveness and equality”, and it is also a fast-moving and fiercely competitive arena.
It is known as “China’s Silicon Valley for young people”, but few people know that it was selected as one of the top ten travel cities in the world by Lonely Planet “Best in Travel” in 2018.
Today, I will take you to unlock six niche ways of playing in Shenzhen, come and explore the other side of the city together~
The map of “Pengcheng” Shenzhen is spread out, and it is a long and narrow area that spreads east and west along the coastline. The “one circle” drawn by Deng Xiaoping opened the legend of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and opened a new page in China’s reform and opening up. “Shenzhen Speed” has become a benchmark for development.
Today, the 35-year-old city has successfully become a first-tier city in China alongside Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and its economic competitiveness even ranks at the forefront.
People’s impression of it is that it is a row of novel high-rise buildings, but they do not know that human activities in Shenzhen can be traced back to the Neolithic Age. The county system was established here in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and it was not until after the Opium War that Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories were demarcated. Xin’an County, Shenzhen and Hong Kong have since been divided.
Look at the world in Shenzhen
The most curious thing in Shenzhen is the ultra-dense, ultra-large-scale theme amusement park, with so many entertainment facilities that it makes people crazy. The important landscapes of the whole world and all of China are also miniatured in the park, and you can only take a rough look when you walk to a broken leg. If you are a fan of the park, you must set aside three or four days and practice your physical strength to prepare for going up and down the mountain. There are various discount packages available for online booking.
The window of the world
It allows you to see more than 130 scenic spots around the world at one time, and the cost performance of the night show is higher. Various festivals are held at any time of season. Every year from June to September, the International Beer Festival will not be missed.
The splendid China Folk Village
There are 82 scenic spots in China in miniature. There are festivals in folk villages, and many villages also have customs performances. Don’t forget to pick up a program list at the entrance of the scenic spot. The Songkran Festival is the most lively from June to August every year, remember to bring a change of clothes.
Happy Valley
There are multiple theme areas and Mayan water parks, and the driverless high-altitude sightseeing train “Happy Route” can save you the effort of running wild, but queues are still inevitable. “Snow Mountain Flying Dragon”, “Perfect Storm” and “Hot Wheel” are some of the most exciting projects in Happy Valley. Note that many shows are closed on Wednesday.
Eastern Chinatown
It consists of Hero Valley Adventure Park, Tea Valley Holiday Park, Yunhai Valley Sports Park and Dahuaxing Temple. A closable dome in the Valley of Heroes keeps water activities out of the weather, and the Eco Canyon has “roaring flash floods” and a wooden roller coaster. From the Genting Sightseeing Area overlooking the entire OCT East, the “peaking” of the fully transparent glass will make your heart beat several times faster.
From Daxia Valley, you can take a cable car and a small train to Chaxi Valley, stroll in the tea fields, watch the performance of tea masters, and enjoy the leisure of the ancient town of Chaweng. The small town of Interlaken is built on the lake. From the Interlaken Castle Hotel, OCT East, by the lake, overlooking the town and watching the swans roaming on the lake will give people the illusion of traveling in Europe.
Travel across the mountains and sea in Shenzhen
Looking at the blue sea, stepping on the soft sandy beach, bathing in the bright sunshine, walking along the long coastline of Shenzhen, the cool sea breeze blowing through the ends of the hair, the churning waves hitting the bottom of the cliff, everything is gentle and beautiful .
Dapeng Peninsula
The coastline of Dapeng Peninsula has been rated as one of the “Eight Most Beautiful Coasts in China” by China National Geographic magazine. The pure natural scenery is the choice for many Shenzhen people to escape from the world. If you come to the weekend, you should be prepared for traffic jams or traffic restrictions.
Crossing Dongxi Chung is a popular hiking route in Shenzhen, Xi Chung is the largest beach in Shenzhen, and Dong Chung is full of lush mangroves, which is unique. After overcoming the difficulty, there will be beautiful scenery feedback. Basically, you only need to walk along the coast, or “walk along the garbage without getting lost”, which lasts about 4 hours.
If it is cloudy, you can start from Tung Chung, the journey is relatively easy. However, if it is a sunny day, it is recommended to go from Xichong to Tungchung, so that you will not be dizzy when you move forward with the sun behind your back.
Orange Diaosha & Yangmeikeng
Judiaosha, the main venue for sailing in the Universiade, is a silver sandy beach surrounded by mountains on three sides. The nearby Yangmeikeng has a very beautiful sea view but no beach. The most popular activity is cycling along the road to see the sea.
Dameisha and Xiaomeisha
This is the closest beach to the city, and the two adjacent resorts are always crowded during the holidays. Dameisha Seaside Park has a 1,800-meter-long beautiful sandy beach, which is divided into sports area, leisure area, barbecue area, etc. The huge sculpture makes people feel that the holiday atmosphere is quite strong.
Xiaomeisha is about 1 km east of Dameisha, and the coastal plank road between the two is a good place to watch the sea. Xiaomeisha Resort is similar to Dameisha, except that there are relatively fewer people and a better environment.
Appreciate art in Shenzhen
After accumulating confidence, the “theme park capital” in people’s impressions began to exert its strength in culture and art, and cities full of commercial atmosphere are slowly writing their own artistic stories, which may be a major benefit for travelers.
OCT Loft Creative Culture Park
Hidden deep in the greenery, the OCT Creative Culture Park was originally an industrial area, but now the straight alleys paved with red bricks have created a dreamlike and beautiful town.
With the OCAT Contemporary Art Center (free; closed on Mondays) as the core, in addition to various exhibition venues renovated from old factories, design companies, cafes, bars, tea houses, fashion restaurants, hotels, and an architecture-themed bookstore are gathered. There are plenty of high-quality pottery shops, ethnic costumes, and household groceries.
This is also the base of the Art and Culture Salon. From day to night, every cell of you is immersed in the pursuit of “beauty”. Don’t drive here on weekends and holidays, there are not many parking spaces and traffic jams are serious.
He Xiangning Art Museum
This is the first national-level art museum in China named after an individual. It collects and displays He Xiangning’s art works and related documents, and promotes the establishment of brands such as He Xiangning Art Exhibition and Shenzhen International Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition.
This building also has a lot of background: it was designed by Hong Kong Gong Shukai Architects, and has won the highest award for outstanding architectural design of the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong Branch and Shenzhen.
New Shenzhen Museum
The permanent exhibition halls on the history of Shenzhen’s reform and opening up, Shenzhen folk culture and other exhibition halls are the best window to understand Shenzhen. The World Wildlife Taxidermy Exhibition is very popular with children.
After shopping, if you are interested in Shenzhen’s industrial strength, you can stop by the Shenzhen Industrial Exhibition Hall (free; closed on Sundays) and take a look. The terrace can also overlook Lianhua Mountain.
Dafen Oil Painting Village
Oil paintings, ink washes, radium carvings, dried flowers, embroidery paintings, printed output, etc. are all available here. They are mainly used for hotel and restaurant decoration. Most of the street displays are rough imitations, and you can buy framed paintings for RMB15.
With the continuous improvement of the market’s pursuit of texture, Dafen is now striving for transformation, and small art and cultural spaces like secret organizations have begun to appear on the streets. Trojan Coffee, you can ask them to help introduce artists with good quality works.
Dafen Art Museum is the locomotive of the transformation of Dafen Village. It often holds exhibitions and auctions of contemporary art.
Exploring the Ancient Village in Shenzhen
The quiet and quaint villages carry the dusty memories of this city for a long time. Walking in the ordinary alleys, feel the fireworks of the world, and quietly feel the meaning of travel.
Guanlan Printmaking Village
Known as “the most beautiful village in Shenzhen”, it was originally a traditional Hakka village, where many printmakers set up studios with high-quality and high-quality works. The time for printmakers to work here is not fixed, and sometimes experience courses are provided. If you are lucky enough to come across it, you may try it.
The four seasons flowers are planted in front of the village, which is particularly beautiful in the drizzle. Even if you don’t look at the prints, the village itself is intoxicating enough. It takes 3 hours to get there by bus from the city center. After getting off the bus, there are mahogany furniture stores along the street, and you can reach it after a short walk along the signs.
Crane Lake New Residence
The largest existing Hakka village in Shenzhen is also a Hakka folk museum. Thousands of Luo family members once lived here. The defense of the building and the design of the waterway are well-designed. When the Japanese army set fire to the besieged residents, the residents escaped from the corridors cleverly set up on the roof, which became a legendary story of the Luo family.
The cultural relics are richly displayed, the oyster shell windows are well preserved, and with the induction audio guide, you can deeply understand the various forms of Shenzhen Hakka culture.
Dapengsuo Town
Dapengsuo Town was established in the Ming Dynasty to guard against Japanese pirates. The ancient city that has survived is an irregular quadrangle, and still preserves the antique street scenes and temples. There are now characteristic inns in the city, as well as some restaurants and cafes with a lot of atmosphere.
Jiaochangwei Village, opposite Dapengsuo Town, has its own coast. There are more than 100 colorful inns built along the coast. The beach here is long and narrow, but there are many marine activities. It is very attractive to be able to walk directly to the beach from your own room. people.
View tall buildings in Shenzhen
Building tall buildings in Shenzhen is a competition, and the building that wins the “tallest” crown represents Shenzhen’s urban development. The transfer of the tallest building marks the change of Shenzhen’s economic center, from the electronics industry to international trade, then to the entry of foreign-funded enterprises, and finally to finance. The location of the city’s heart also moves from Luohu to Futian, and then to Baoan. Where will the next giant’s hand stretch to the sky?
Electronics Building
The Electronic Building (the intersection of Shennan Avenue and Huafa North Road), which started in 1981, is 20 stories high and reaches 70 meters. Together with Shennan Avenue, it has driven the strong economy of Dongmen and Huaqiangbei, and is a symbol of the take-off of Shenzhen’s electronic industry.
International Trade Building
The International Trade Building (No. 3002, Renmin South Road) built in 1982 is synonymous with “Shenzhen Speed”. It has 53 floors and a height of 160 meters. The efficiency of “one floor in three days” shocked the world. Guomao Xuan Palace also opened on the 49th floor and is now famous for authentic Cantonese cuisine made with healthy ingredients.
Diwang Building
In 1996, Diwang Building (No. 5002, Shennan East Road) had a total of 69 floors and a height of 384 meters. It refreshed the Shenzhen speed with “two and a half days” and maintained the “highest” record for 15 years. It is also the only one in Shenzhen. High-rise buildings with pure viewing services can overlook Hong Kong to the south and Shenzhen to the north.
Kingkey 100
Kingkey 100 (No. 5016, Shennan East Road), which was capped in 2011, is next to the Emperor Building, with a total of 100 floors and a height of 442 meters, replacing the Diwang Building as the tallest building in Shenzhen.
Ping An International Financial Center
This crown was later taken by Ping An International Financial Center (Yitian Road), a height of 660 meters that redefines Shenzhen’s skyline.
Having seafood in Shenzhen
Shenzhen brings together people from all over the world, and the diversity of restaurants is also the most in the Pearl River Delta. Dongmen Old Street itself is a food street. The nearby Leyuan Road is a good place to eat seafood in the city, and Fenghuang Road is mostly a large restaurant.
Zhenhua Road, Zhenxing Road, and Yannan Road, which emanate from Huaqiangbei Business District, gather local flavors. There are also many choices on Jingtian North Road. Of course, the famous Xiangmihu is the most popular food street. Yantian Seafood Street not only has fresh ingredients, but you can also enjoy the sea view while sitting on the second floor of the restaurant.
Shuitou Seafood Street and Moon Bay Shuangyong Pier are also good places to eat seafood. From the city, take bus E11, 833, 364, or drive from Shenzhen City, take the Dapeng exit of Yanba Expressway, and follow the road signs for 11 kilometers.
Huaqiangbei, once the world’s largest digital product distribution center, is the starting point of Shenzhen’s development. With the rise of e-commerce, the once prosperous physical storefronts are also facing transformation. Now they are gradually getting rid of the “cottage” image and becoming a “red supply chain” exhibition and sales window, connecting a complete and complete electronic parts production area. With the world’s top “makers” coming here to develop products, Huaqiangbei has once again become a “dream place” in the new era.
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