I really like Shenzhen in comparison with some other Chinese cities Ive heard about and experienced. The pollution is less, and being close to the coast there are some great beaches! Its an easy crossing to Hong Kong, and there are also more expats living here than in some of the more inland cities. Today i spent over three hours on a bus travelling from Zhuhai to Shenzhen, but it was a great way to get a look at the scenery on that route, taking in parts of Guangzhou and various districts of Shenzhen. I transferred from the tourist coach to a little mini-bus near the Hong Kong border crossing in Shenzhen. That took the few remaining passengers to the Shenzhen bus terminal, bjut dropped us in the main street outside. A wizened little man with a trolley came up and put my luggage on his trolley, indicating for me to follow. I have no idea where he was going to take me. I told him where i wanted to go, and I think he planned to walk me there! Finally I got it through to him that I wanted a taxi, so he hailed the first available one to come along, and put my luggage into the boot of the taxi for me! My luggage only consisted of a small suitcase and a backpack, but together with my camera, a plastic bag of a couple of valuable items I didnt want crushed in the suitcase, and the cylinder containing the painting I bought at the Peak, my luggage was more cumbersome than heavy. Of course, I had to pay the little guy some money for helping me, so I gave him 10 rmb and got into the taxi before he had a chance to argue. My first stopping point was the tallest building in Shenzhen, the KK Building. I enjoyed a light lunch and a Starbucks coffee there before heading to my hotel, which was another taxi ride. However, taxi fares in Shenzhen work out about half the cost of those in Hong Kong! I found myself on the 15th floor, with a magnificent view of some of the city, and clear enough atmosphere to allow me to actually see it! Later I went out again, explored some of the surrounding streets, ended up at a shopping centre called King Glory Mall! Wondered where they got that name from! As far as neighbourhood streets are concerned, it is very much the same as Zhengzhou. Similar shops, similar people, similar traffic chaos. But the weather, with temperatures in the mid-20s, is much warmer than they are experiencing in Zhengzhou at present, with night time temperatures not much above zero, and days up to around 13 degrees. I enjoyed a delicious meal at a Chinese restaurant catering to cuisines from provinces in the south-west, and after dinner walked off the calories with some further neighbourhood sightseeing before returning to the hotel. Tomorrow my holiday comes to an end, but with the ease and low cost of travel here, it wont be my last visit to this region.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 16:45:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015