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Shenzhen, China
Photo: LEE3Lithium, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Shenzhen's city center, consisting of the two districts of Futian and Luohu, has everything you'd expect from a thriving international city—skyscrapers, shopping, museums, performances—but is also surprisingly green, with huge, lovely parks and mountains. This is the main area that most visitors to Shenzhen experience, with its humongous electronics markets, fashionable residents, and border crossings to Hong Kong.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
关山月美术馆
The Guan Shanyue Gallery is dedicated to the works of Guan Shanyue, a modern master of the Ling Nan school of Chinese ink painting. The Ling Nan (Ling Nan is the Tang Dynasty name for Guangdong and Guangxi provinces) originated in the early 20th century inspired by Japanese westernising schools. Guan Shanyue studied under the masters of the school and produced some very competent art in that style. He had revolutionary associations and, after the communist takeover, became an arts bureaucrat until he was attacked during the Cultural Revolution. He donated his paintings to the Shenzhen City Government in 1993 and the gallery opened in 1997. It contains exhibits of Guan's work and hosts regular special exhibitions.
深圳美术馆
深圳市棋国象棋博物馆
A private museum dedicated to xiangqi (Chinese chess). It has a collection of over 50,000 xiangqi-related objects, including chess boards, chess pieces, books and art work.
深圳博物馆; Shēnzhèn Bówùguǎn
In Wing A of the Shenzhen Civic Centre, the City Government's spectacular wing-roofed building. This is a must-see. The ground floor gallery has temporary exhibits from some of the most famous museums of China, which have ranged from jade burial suits to Shang Dynasty bronzes to contemporary Chinese painting. The upper floors have exhibits of the history of Shenzhen: the incredible number of ancient relics unearthed during construction; an exhibit of the Qing and Republican periods in the area, including a recreated street from traditional Shenzhen complete with shops and wax figures; and the founding and development of the SEZ, revealing details of some of the most significant events of recent Chinese history.
深圳钢琴博物馆
Displays a collection of 46 old pianos obtained from various parts of the world.
越众历史影像馆
深圳市当代艺术与城市规划馆
If you get a kick out of sleek modern architecture and the story behind how cities grow, MOCAUP in Futian is made for you. Opened in 2016 and designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au, the museum combines dazzling contemporary art with immersive exhibitions on Shenzhen’s past, present, and future city planning. No need to register or show your passport as of 2025.
深圳燃气科学馆
The first museum in China to be exclusively devoted to the science of gas.
深圳市工业展览馆
Groups are required to make a booking before visiting. No booking is required for solo visitors.
深圳古生物博物馆
深圳科学馆
弘法寺; Hóng Fǎ Sì
Not particularly old but it is always packed with pilgrims from all over China and beyond. The temple is spectacularly sited half-way up Wutong Mountain in the Fairy Lake Botanical Garden - Southeast Gate (仙湖植物园站), Shenzhen's largest and most beautiful park.
深圳清真寺
The largest mosque in Shenzhen.
深圳图书馆
Shenzhen Library and Concert Hall together make up another of the architectural masterpieces of the city. Architect Arata Isozaki designed the buildings with a back of almost featureless black granite and a front of brilliant folded glass. It is a must see for architecture freaks. The library has four million books.
平安国际金融中心, Píng'ān Guójì Jīnróng Zhōngxīn
At 600 meters, this is the fifth-tallest building in the world, the second-tallest in China, and the tallest all-office building in the world. Visitors can go up to the 541-meter-high observation deck, "Free Sky", on the 116th floor, for 360-degree views of Shenzhen, Hong Kong's New Territories, and the bay. The observation deck has little glass-floor nooks where you can see the city far down beneath your feet. Buy your tickets on the underground level of the building, watch a short presentation of the history of Shenzhen, and then take the incredibly fast (10 m/s) elevator that gets you up to the observation deck in less than a minute. Considering it's the fifth tallest building in the world, the observation deck is surprisingly not crowded, at least on ordinary weekdays.
深圳大剧院
深圳音乐厅
See Shenzhen Library above. The Concert Hall hosts international standard artists in a stunning glass-wrapped setting.
深圳交响乐团
Lotus Mountain Park; 莲花山公园; Liánhuāshāngōngyuán
This is Shenzhen's main and most central park, just north of central Futian district. The gardens are extremely beautiful and meticulously cared for. But to really enjoy the park, you need to be there with Shenzhen's middle classes early in the morning or on Sundays when large family groups gather to have fun. At the top of the 100-meter hill, which you can reach with a 20-minute, not too challenging walk, is a large bronze statue of Deng Xiaoping striding out over the city. Large aerobics groups operate to loud music, people fly kites and play badminton, a man walks down the path inscribing Tang Dynasty poetry in ever evaporating water with an enormous brush. Further down the mountain, ballroom dancers do the tango, a group of belly dancers wiggle, and large men lay into each other with bamboo staves and swords. A famous and totally spontaneous group of singers of revolutionary opera sings by the lotus lake every Sunday morning, a must-see if you are even remotely in the vicinity. They are just past the laughter therapy group and the marriage market.
仙湖植物公园; Xiān Hú Zhíwù Gōngyuán
This is Shenzhen's most beautiful park and surely one of the most beautiful in China. It sprawls over miles of foothills, valleys, rivers and lakes before climbing half way up Wutong Mountain. Main attraction is the Hong Fa Temple (see entry above) but there are beautiful and peaceful lakes surrounded by teahouses and pavilions which could inspire great poetry. Don't miss the azalea garden, the pertified forest, the paleontology museum or the medicinal plants garden.
园博园
This park started life as the site of an international garden exhibition in 2004. It is an enormous garden with an area of 660,000 m². It ranges from gently undulating to quite steep and contains gardens in many different styles, not only Chinese but from all over the world. Make sure you visit the hot houses and climb the hill past the waterfall to the pagoda on top of the hill. Views back to Hong Kong are spectacular on a clear day. A further 242 steps will take you to the top of the pagoda.
福田红树林生态公园
Hong Kong's Mai Po Marshes are one of the world's great birdwatching paradises as birds migrating from Siberia rest in the fishponds. The same birds also rest in the mangroves on Shenzhen Bay a scant two miles north of Mai Po. In the late 1990s when the Binhai Freeway was being built, there was public outrage at plans to route the road through the bird habitat of the mangroves, subsequently the road was built 200 m north and China's smallest national park was founded. The bird watching is legendary, but if you are not into birds, the park provides coconut palm shaded walks and views to die for across Shenzhen Bay. The birds are seasonal—outside of winter and early spring you may not see many.
梧桐山 Wútóng Shān; Wutong Village, Luohu District; 罗湖区捂桐村
At just over 900 meters, Wutong Mountain is the second tallest mountain in the Pearl River Delta after Hong Kong's Tai Mo Shan. The Wutong Mountains are a popular challenge for hikers. This has been a recognised beauty spot since at least the Ming Dynasty, when it was included in the Eight Great Views of Xin'an County and was celebrated in poetry. There are several routes to the top varying significantly in difficulty. The starting point for many is Wutong Village. Bus 211 starts at 06:30 from Jian She Lu terminus in Luohu to Wutong Village terminus. Bus stops on the 211 route include one outside the Guomao metro station. The last bus in the return journey from Wutong Village departs at 22:00. 211 runs at a 10 minute service interval. Allow an hour for the end to end 211 journey duration. Wutong Village itself is a popular visitor attraction with many cafes, restaurants, spas and craft shops. Many eateries there are all-vegetarian. The broad road from the village up the mountain is a gentle climb. If you intend to go to the top and back, be prepared for a 6-8 hour walk, including many steep steps. There are three main ridgeline peaks. Lesser Wutong (小梧桐) peak at 692 m is where the Shenzhen TV Company has its impressive transmission tower. Great Wutong (大梧桐) peak at 943.7 m is reached via the notoriously difficult Hao Han Slope. Bean Curd Head (豆腐头), reaches 706 m. There is a pool on the top of Greater Wutong called Wuling Heavenly Pond (梧岭天池). Starting point choices are on the east side of Shatoujiao/Yantian, the south side of Xianhu/Liantang, the west of Wutongshan Village, the north side of Longgang, and the north and south entrances. The difficulty level and the scenery along each route vary. On a clear day, the views from the summit over Mirs Bay and the mountains of Hong Kong's New Territories are beautiful. Night views over the city set against the sweep of Shenzhen Bay are also impressive. Wear a hat and sunscreen and bring snacks and water—at least two liters per person, though if you don't bring enough, you can buy water and food on the trail.
笔架山公园 Bǐjiàshān Gōngyuán
Less popular but quite a bit nicer than nearby Lianhua Mountain Park. It's full of trees, birds, lots of kinds of flowers, quiet rivers and ponds, and people strolling and doing tai chi. The park strikes a balance: attractively manicured without feeling too artificial. The "mountain" (really just a hill) has two peaks, 178m Bi Guan Peak (笔冠峰) and 164 m Bi Jun Peak (笔俊峰).
Refurbished with a strong Thai themed interior decor, you almost think you are in a Thailand resort especially on the new first floor. One of the many big spas in the Futian area and well worth a try if you're not into the hanky panky business. OPS is famous for providing excellent service, massages and really good Chinese cuisine. The food is excellent although a little pricey for local standards.
Branded as Water Cube is brand new, hence in excellent condition, and tastefully designed with an interior resembling a luxury hotel. Although English is barely spoken by anybody, the staff are clearly trained to be first class and they try their best to be helpful — and sell massages, which cost ¥48 for 45 minutes of lounge-chair massage through ¥128–238 for 90 minutes of full-body massage in the usual styles, 10% service charge and tip separate. The spa is visible from the main street outside Lok Ma Chau border crossing and metro stop, and shuttles are available to Luo Wu and Huanggang border crossings. Gym, fruit, full drink menu including iced lemon tea and coffee, gym, and videogames complimentary; internet, karaoke and VIP room rental, billiards, table tennis, and of course food all charged separately.
This spa is showing its age like an old resort hotel in Las Vegas, although it remains a popular tourist destination in part because it has the notable advantage of having English-speaking staff on duty and identified with clearly visible tags year-round. The entry fee of ¥98 is waived after ¥168 of spa services paid, not including the 10% service charge and tips of ¥10-30 per 45 minutes. Foot/head/leg massage is ¥56/45 min and Chinese massage ¥168/90 min. Perks include a swimming pool, a gym, videogames, and free ice-cream and juice and fruit. Free WiFi and five-minute Internet terminals are available in the shared area. The spa has a range of VIP services available such as private Royal Club rooms with a semi-private second swimming pool and Rolls Royce transfers from Luohu (¥30) or the airport.
Beautiful interior, entry fee of ¥138 with 10% service charge. Party room rental for ¥60/hour to ¥120/hour depending on size with karaoke and chess and games included.
Shuttle available, offering in March 2009 four hours of Chinese massage for ¥108 and ¥88 for any three types of foot, head, or leg massage.
深圳高尔夫俱乐部
This is one of China's two oldest golf courses. When it was established in 1985 it was way out in the country but now it is surrounded by skyscrapers, providing a pleasant oasis in the heart of Futian. This is where the locals prefer to play.
八卦一路美食街
This was Shenzhen's first Eat Street. Food was originally Cantonese brought by homesick Hong Kong factory owners. It's now a smallish Eat Street compared to some of the others. Cantonese food is still good here but you can get food from all over China.
车公庙美食街
A particularly large eat street, with good Sichuan, Hunan and Taiwanese food. There is also a good if unauthentic Macau style restaurant. Centered around Tairan Fourth Road (泰然四路) up to Tairan Ninth Road (泰然九路).
东门步行街; Dōngmén Bùxíng Jiē
Shenzhen's favorite comfort shopping district also has lots of cheap and cheerful food, especially snacks. It's the usual suspects: Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunanese, all the major fast food chains, and various others. This eat street has a chaotic nature, a cacophony of noise and e-scooters riders on the pavment, which are a public menace.
The food's in the streets and alleys parallel to Huaqiangbei. Hunan and Chaozhou are specialities. There are several shops specialising in Uyghur "naan" bread. An alley behind the main street specialises in Muslim food.
人民南路 Rénmín Nán Lù
This busy north-south road, in between the Luohu border crossing and Dongmen shopping area, is lined with a fair number of restaurants representing a variety of cuisines (mostly Chinese, of course), and a fair amount of shopping. You can find more on the side streets nearby.
新闻路美食街
A bunch of moderately-priced sit-down restaurants near the press building—lots of Hunan food as usual, and other cuisines as well.
喜荟
Busy dim sum place. Menu only in Chinese, but it has some pictures.
Taiwanese chain's first branch in the mainland. Toilet themed restaurant, featuring toilets as seats and squatter toilet plates. Food is nothing special and costs about ¥25-35/dish, but come after dinner with a friend and bring the camera for the ¥10 chocolate ice cream. The surrounding Laojie commercial district goes from cosmopolitan to near-dystopian in the course of about two hours every evening.
It's in Central Walk, top floor on the right hand walkway (outside the building) directly opposite the Great China Building. Beer, wine and pizza served. Big screen sports coverage.
根据地酒吧（上步店）
A live rock music venue. Great vibe and great interior deco. There are nice three-sided booths along the walls for larger groups. A variety of acts play into the early morning. Friendly waitstaff with Communist Star armbands.
A European style two-story pub. It is quite popular among foreigners.
Brewery and beer garden.
人间都汇国际俱乐部
This is a KTV that has a lounge with performances on the 2nd floor, and private rooms on the rest of the floors. You can pay to have male or female hosts sit with you - for a tip. 200+ for the girls and 500+ for the gigolos. You can have them line up for you and you can pick the one you like.
Guinness is available on tap. There are also many other international beers available (bottled mainly). The outside tables along the walkway are good for a relaxing pint, the inside tables and the outside tables closest to the front door are if you're looking for a livelier atmosphere, better
Just north of Coco Park shopping mall, in the middle of the boardwalk. Usually packed on weekends with many foreigners.
Biggest economy hotel chain in China. It features high quality and consistent standard rooms with very reasonable prices. There are several branches in Shenzhen.
如家快捷酒店 (深圳罗湖口岸店); Rújiākuàijié Jiǔdiàn (Shēnzhèn Luóhú Kǒu'àn Diàn)
如家快捷酒店 (深圳新洲店); Rújiākuàijiéjiǔdiàn (Shēnzhèn Xīnzhōu Diàn)
如家快捷酒店 (深圳竹子林店); Rújiākuàijié Jiǔdiàn (Shēnzhèn Zhúzilín Diàn)
如家快捷酒店 (深圳火车站店); Rújiākuàijiéjiǔdiàn (Shēnzhèn Huǒchēzhàn Diàn)
深圳迎宾馆; Shēnzhèn Yíng Bīnguǎn
3-star hotel with 584 well-kept guestrooms. Business and leisure facilities are also available.
栖游青年旅馆
Capsule hostel a 10 minute walk to the SEG building, a 4 minute walk northwest from the 华强北 subway stop. Receptionists are more helpful than average and have functional English. Has three public computers, smoking room, free coffee (but bring your own mug), hot water, small kitchen area/fridge, and free laundry. About ¥88 a night for lockable capsules with shared bathroom and a private locker.
A four star hotel with nice facilities, seasoned staff and excellent service.
深圳新王朝酒店; Shēnzhèn Xīn Wángcháo Jiǔdiàn
A 4-star hotel featuring cozy, fully furnished guest rooms, multifunction conference room, business center, health club, and restaurant.
Very new and clean hotel, excellent services. Also includes free Wi-Fi internet access. The staff speak English reasonably well.
深圳丽苑酒店; Shēnzhèn Líyuàn Jiǔdiàn
3-star hotel with 100 guest rooms for business travelers. Conference facilities and broadband internet are available.
深圳万德诺富特酒店
Located in the heart of Shenzhen's well-known financial district and on the popular Shennan Zhong Road, the Novotel Watergate Shenzhen (Shenzhen Wande Nuofute Jiudian) is well positioned as an international business hotel.
深圳东方银座美爵酒店
Four star hotel with excellent service, English speaking staff, and services for both business and leisure travelers. Also includes free internet access.
金碧酒店
4 star hotel, their cheapest rooms start at ¥300, they also have a pool.
圣廷苑酒店
深圳阳光酒店; Shēnzhèn Yángguāng Jiǔdiàn
Five star hotel.
深圳星河丽思卡尔顿酒店; Shēnzhèn Xīnghélìsīkǎ'ěrdùn Jiǔdiàn
Rooms with mini-bar, TV, wi-fi and safe. Business center, currency exchange, flower shop and beauty salon available. Chinese and Western restaurants as well as café and bar.
深圳福田香格里拉大酒店; Shēnzhèn Fútián Xiānggélǐlā Dàjiǔdiàn
Rooms with TV in bathroom, internet access, coffee-making facilities, mini-bar and safe. Business center, currency exchange, gift shop, ticket office, table tennis, fitness, massage and outdoor swimming pool available. Chinese and Western restaurants as well as cafë and bar.
The hotel has 491 rooms and suites and is part of a mixed-use commercial development. Facilities include: 5 restaurants, 2 lounges, pastry shop, a spa with 13 treatment rooms, fitness centre, swimming pool, business centre and extensive event space.
Cantonese: Lo Wu
Offers a very different experience to shopping in Hong Kong and is therefore worth a visit if only spending a short time in China. Spread over several levels are many small stores, each selling similar products: watches, jewellery, handbags, clothes and DVDs. These products are rarely authentic but they are often very well made and detailed fakes. There are many stallholders pressuring shoppers to part with their money but the atmosphere is one of enjoyable bargaining. This is the place to go for Western sizes in clothing and shoes. This is also the place to go to have massages and nails done dirt cheap as well. But remember, this is not really Shenzhen, it is more like a Chinese interpretation of Tijuana. It is rough, dirty and infested with touts. Take the plunge and go another hundred meters into the city and you will find that your Luohu experience is not representative of the rest of the city.
东门步行街; Dōngmén Bùxíng Jiē
The place to go for clothes and small-ticket items. This place is better than Luohu Commercial City in terms of price and range of items. Other than several department stores and malls, most are smaller stalls. The price is cheap, even by local standards.
The largest (and easily the most expensive) shopping mall in Shenzhen. Highlights include the following: Olympic size indoor Ice Skating Rink, Golden Harvest Cinema movie theater, Ole (high end supermarket with many imported items), Spaghetti House and Starbucks. Good option
Shopping mega complex. Sports, clothing, fashion, coffee, some restaurants, including "Green Tea" (绿茶), with tasty Hangzhou food and a bilingual menu, and "Norway.Oslo" which has some outdoor seating. When you get bored you can go outside and hit up McCawley's or the Mexican restaurant for dinner, then visit any of a number of bars just across the street from the mall. Coco Park is close to the Shenzhen Convention Exhibition Center.
Another Shopping complex in Shenzhen. Base tenant is Carrefour, but also has usual shops, restaurants and a cinema. Three floors of shops arranged in a circle. Mostly women's clothes. Starbucks and Italian Best Coffee (Illy Coffee) are located here. Subway (Sandwiches) also has opened here.
丰盛町 Fēngshèngdīng
A long underground pedestrian alley, lined with more than 500 restaurants and shops, specializing in fashion.
A mall, along the lines of MixC. It is fairly high priced. It includes a movie theater as well as the "IN" bar/nightclub (that's the name of it) and "Yellow" bar. Eight floors connected by criss-crossed escalators give you enough stores to stay occupied for a few hours. Lots of restaurants in the sub-ground levels. Connected by a walkway to Rainbow Mall. There's a Pacific Coffee on the ground floor.
Diwang Building
On Shennan Road, across from the MixC. Go to the Da Juyuan (大剧院) metro station. You won't miss it, because Diwang Dasha is among the tallest buildings in Shenzhen. The shopping center is actually very small, with just a few stores on three small levels, but it's in a nice area of town with lots of other attractions, so you might dart in to see what's to be found. Starbucks on the ground floor, McDonald's in the basement level.
中信城市广场
Six-story upscale shopping mall. Includes a bunch of restaurants, and nearby Songling Road (松岭路) also has a bunch of more authentic, distinctive, and reasonably priced cuisine.
赛格广场, Sàigé Guǎngchǎng
This most famous electronics market has ten floors of small stalls selling electronics and accessories. The first two floors are wholesale components and the rest is mainly dedicated to consumer goods. Most customers are expected to buy in bulk when buying small things like wires or cases, but they will sell individual pieces for reasonable prices. It has kind of a maze-like layout, so it's good for wandering around and stumbling upon all kinds of interesting gizmos and novelty accessories for sale. You won't get too lost, though—you're never too far from an escalator. Products are partly organized by floor, but the signs explaining the system are only in Chinese.
HQ-Mart, 华强电子世界, Huáqiáng Diànzǐ Shìjiè
Another huge electronics market. It's split into multiple buildings, some of which are more interesting than others. The northernmost one (深圳二店) is oriented towards consumers, with six floors of various electronics and accessories. Again, the products are organized by floor, but the signs explaining the system are all in Chinese. Head to the fifth and sixth floors for gaudy LED strips, lightbulbs, flashing displays, and lights of all kinds.
明通数码城, Míngtōng Shùmǎ Chéng
Four floors. Watch parts, electronic toys, gadgets, and mobile phone parts, as well as a lot of cosmetics on the third floor and one section of the first floor.
远望数码商城, Yuǎnwàng Shùmǎ Shāngchéng
Three floors, mostly consisting of mobile phones and accessories. Behind it is an alley of reasonably priced restaurants.
Series of stalls selling lots of cheap clothing. It's not quite as huge as Luohu Commercial City, but it's worth a look.
深圳书城
Bills itself as the biggest bookshop in the world, and it's really more of a mall anchored by a bookstore, with lots of restaurants and other shops in the same building. Great selection of books and related products. There is a small shop which specialises in English books, Eon Books.
深圳书城罗湖城
The smaller Luohu branch of Book City.
A whole warehouse with many stores selling all things related to tea. Wonderful selection of everything from Pu'er-teas to tea-ware. They seem not to be focused on selling to tourists, which is very nice, but they still take time with you if you want to go through the tea ceremonies.
By train
Futian Station (services to Hong Kong, Guangzhou and further destinations including Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin) and Shenzhen Station (services to Guangzhou and slow trains to further destinations).
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