Things to do in Shenzhen
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Shenzhen
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best season, clear skies, warm days, hiking and deck views at their best, November is the best month.
Second best window, warm and green with azaleas, rising humidity and fog on high ground.
Mild and dry but cold fronts bite, and Chinese New Year empties the city and closes small restaurants.
Worst months, heat, humidity, heavy rain and typhoon risk, outdoor plans often cancelled.
Shoulder month, already hot and wet but before the worst typhoon and crowd peak.
What's on
- China Hi-Tech Fair November
Flagship technology fair in Futian, fills hotels, book November rooms early.
- Lianhuashan Glades Music Festival November
Free outdoor classical concerts in Lianhuashan Park in the best weather of the year.
- Shenzhen Marathon December
Bay side road closures and a festival atmosphere on the promenade, enter early to run.
- OCT Loft Jazz Festival October
The main event of the creative quarter, the best time to see OCT Loft at full stretch.
- Shenzhen Design Week April
Design exhibitions centred on the Sea World Culture and Arts Center and venues citywide.
- Lychee Festival late June
Lychee harvest celebration with orchard picking in Nanshan, go early in the day in summer heat.
Best things to do in Shenzhen
Ping An Finance Center - Free Sky
The city in one panorama from the 116th floor, with Hong Kong hills to the south on a clear day.
Lianhuashan Park
A short climb to the best free view down the Futian axis, and the best seat for the CBD light show.
Huaqiangbei
The largest electronics market on earth, floor after floor of components, drones and prototypes.
OCT Loft Creative Culture Park
Converted factories holding galleries, bookshops, coffee and bars, the city at its most unhurried.
Dafen Oil Painting Village
Painters working in open studios in the village that supplied much of the world with replica oils.
Nantou Ancient City
Historic lanes, a small museum and lively cafes proving the city existed long before 1980.
Sea World Culture and Arts Center
A landmark design museum on the water in Shekou, with properly curated exhibitions and a sea terrace.
Window of the World
Miniature world landmarks built with real craft, best for families and for the evening show.
Where to stay in Shenzhen
Futian CBD
first trip, business, short stays
Central metro junction, Civic Center sights and the Hong Kong high speed rail station in one district.
Shenzhen Bay and Houhai, Nanshan
couples, leisure, longer stays
Bay promenade, Talent Park sunsets and the best malls for eating, quieter and greener than Futian.
Shekou and Sea World, Nanshan
families, longer stays, neighbourhood feel
Low rise expat district with bakeries, breweries, the arts center, waterfront and the ferry terminal.
OCT, Nanshan
families, theme parks
Leafy leisure district around Window of the World, Splendid China, Happy Valley and OCT Loft.
Dameisha and Dapeng coast
beach and hiking weekend night
Puts sunrise, beaches and Qiniang Mountain on your doorstep, too far to base for the city itself.
Think twice about
- Luohu Port, Dongmen and Luohu Commercial City
Ageing hotels, persistent touting around the port and fake goods shopping. Fine by day, scruffiest base in the city.
- Huaqiangbei
Superb to visit, poor to sleep in. Heavy crowds, delivery bike chaos and no evening neighbourhood once markets shut.
- Bao'an airport area
Clean and safe but anonymous and far. You lose an hour a day to the metro for no benefit.
- Longgang and Dapeng as a main base
Beautiful coast and countryside a traffic jam away from the city. Treat it as an overnight excursion.
Best restaurants in Shenzhen
The Bay by Chef Fei
The most decorated Cantonese dining room in the city, Lingnan and Chaozhou cooking at the highest level.
Ensue
Guangdong ingredients cooked with Californian technique in a tasting menu high above Futian.
Yun Jing
Contemporary Cantonese cooking with a wide view over Shenzhen Bay from high in the Raffles tower.
Shang Palace
Proper Cantonese classics and lunch dim sum beside COCO Park at a step below the top rooms in price.
Tao Tao Ju
A Guangzhou institution since 1880 doing a proper morning tea session of dim sum and roast goose.
Run Yuan Si Ji Coconut Chicken
Coconut chicken hotpot, the dish Shenzhen invented, with a clear sweet broth you drink first.
Baheli Beef Hotpot
Chaoshan beef hotpot with same day cuts blanched for seconds in a clear broth, the best cheap dinner in Futian.
Baia Burger Concept
Long running expat favourite in COCO Park for burgers, brunch and coffee on a lively terrace.
Outdoor things to do in Shenzhen
Wutong Mountain
The highest peak in the city, with forest trails and a summit view over bays and Hong Kong hills.
Qiniang Mountain
The wilder second highest peak, volcanic rock and a mountain and sea panorama with few crowds.
Shenzhen Bay Park
A flat coastal cycle path and promenade running for kilometres beside the bay and the mangroves.
Shenzhen Talent Park
Lawns and a lake facing the Nanshan skyline, the most photogenic sunset stop on the bay.
Dapeng Fortress
A Ming dynasty coastal walled town of grey brick lanes, temples and generals residences by the sea.
Dameisha Seaside Park
The easiest beach in the city, a long free serviced beach reached directly by metro.
Mission Hills Golf Club
The largest golf club in the world, twelve designer courses including the World Cup Course.
Xichong Beach
The most beautiful beach in Shenzhen, a long wild arc of sand with surf hire and clear water.
Best hotels in Shenzhen
Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen
The current benchmark luxury hotel in the city, with skyline rooms, a major spa and star rated dining.
Park Hyatt Shenzhen
Calm residential luxury inside the Ping An tower complex, beside the deck and the Hong Kong rail station.
Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen
A well run five star beside COCO Park with the best location per yuan in Futian.
Atour Hotel Shenzhen Futian CBD Gangxia North
Calm, well designed Chinese mid range hotel by Gangxia North station at a third of five star prices.
Raffles Shenzhen
Grand hotel luxury at One Shenzhen Bay with bay views and one of the best Cantonese rooms in the city.
Andaz Shenzhen Bay
Design first luxury by Shenzhen Bay MixC, stylish rooms and a garden terrace near Talent Park.
Shenzhen Marriott Hotel Nanshan
Full service value pick for the bay district, near Coastal City at half the price of its luxury neighbours.
Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai
Waterfront family pick in Shekou with pools and sea views, the plaza restaurants outside the door.
Is Shenzhen expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥450 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥900 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥2,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Ping An Finance Center - Free Sky: a few days ahead
- Window of the World: a few days ahead
- Splendid China Folk Village: a few days ahead
- Mission Hills Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Shenzhen Astronomical Observatory: weeks ahead
- The Bay by Chef Fei: weeks ahead
- Ensue: weeks ahead
- Yun Jing: weeks ahead
- Book top hotels and Ensue and The Bay by Chef Fei a week or more ahead.
- Book Mission Hills tee times as soon as dates are fixed, especially weekends.
- Buy Ping An deck tickets only for a clear day and pivot to a morning slot if haze builds.
- Reserve the Astronomical Observatory on its official WeChat account before a Dapeng trip.
- Check Dameisha and Dapeng vehicle reservation rules before summer and holiday visits.
Is Shenzhen safe?
- Violent crime is rare and streets and the metro feel safe late, keep a hand on your phone in port crowds.
- Electric delivery scooters use pavements at speed, look both ways on the sidewalk.
- Heat and dehydration from May to September are the realistic risk, plan dawn and late afternoon outdoors.
- Emergency numbers are 110 for police and 120 for ambulance.
Shenzhen travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Branded goods at implausible prices in Huaqiangbei are copies or refurbished, test before you pay.
- Luohu Commercial City is a fake goods mall with touting, walk through as anthropology and shop elsewhere.
- Confirm seafood price per weight and processing fee before anything leaves the tank.
- Window of the World and Splendid China are overrated for short adult trips.
- Never buy anything in the port area that someone has run up to you to sell.
Getting around Shenzhen: public transport and more
- Ride the metro everywhere, it reaches almost every pick and costs a few yuan.
- Use DiDi for Dapeng day trips, late nights and the airport run.
- Futian high speed rail reaches Hong Kong West Kowloon in about 14 minutes.
- Link a foreign card to Alipay and WeChat Pay before arrival, the city is almost fully cashless.
- Install a VPN or use a travel eSIM before landing, and use Amap or Baidu Maps instead of Google Maps.
Who Shenzhen suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Shenzhen your trip
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