Introduction
2026-03-06
Sometime around 2002 or 2003, when I was still in elementary school, I came to Shenzhen with my grandma for the first time. I remember there was a huge billboard about Deng Xiaoping and China’s Reform and Opening Up, and from beside it you could look across the water and see Hong Kong. I never would have guessed that my next visit to Shenzhen would come more than twenty years later. This time, I mainly came along with my girlfriend while she went to Hong Kong to open a bank account, and I took the opportunity to explore Shenzhen a bit too.
1. Huaqiangbei
2026-03-06
You can’t come to Shenzhen without having pork trotter rice.
2. Chiwei
2026-03-07
This area seemed to be full of people from Chaoshan, with Chaoshan restaurants and hotels everywhere. From some of the rental notices posted outside the hotels, it even looked like they only accepted guests from Chaoshan. Everyone on the street seemed busy hustling, speeding along the sidewalks on scooters and honking as they went.
The buildings were packed incredibly close together. The narrowest gap I saw between two buildings was probably only about two meters.
3. Lianhuashan Park
2026-03-07
I got there too late—it was already dark.
