Travelling to Shenzhen post-Covid

This is our first trip to China post-Covid and much has changed! We have visited Shenzhen before and there were only 1 or 2 metro lines back then, and cash was still king. Now it is a metropolis with a well connected subway with clean and modern malls. But will it still be easy to get around if you are not a native speaker?

Getting Around Shenzhen 深圳

It is difficult to “google” stuff while planning for this trip because Google searches yield not so useful results. We used Baidu for our planning when Google fell short. Understanding Chinese helps, Google Translate was handy too. Most of “internet” resides in their Super Apps (eg. WeChat), and its full functions are not available via a web browser.

Take the case of finding an english Shenzhen Metro Map from official sources. All the decent resolution metro maps we could find are in Chinese. The official Shenzhen Metro english website was perpetually inaccessible. The next best website would be Shenzhen Municipal Transport Bureau which didn’t have a decent resolution either. Searching for “深圳市轨道交通运营线路网络图” in Baidu didn’t help. The only way we could access an english metro map with decent resolution is to scan the QR code using the WeChat app on the Shenzhen Metro announcement in WeChat. Eventually we settled on what google came up with, though it was outdated.

In essence, China’s whole internet and information are in WeChat, you need to have it installed to scan QR codes to access information. Without this, we felt handicapped during our trip!

While Google Maps and some of its other services were still accessible, (thanks to the eSIMs we bought). Information on google maps is scant. Places of interest are hard to find, and food reviews are non-existent. Thankfully, there are decent Google Maps alternatives. You can access them on a browser, but we recommend you download the apps before you travel for a better experience. Unfortunately, they are all in Chinese only.

Here are the 3 maps we use there, in order of preference:

1. Amap (Alibaba) - Searches in english comes up with the right results most of the time compared to the others. Using it with Chrome browser allows for some translation.

2. Baidu Map (Baidu)

3. QQ Map (Tencent)

We spent 3 days exploring Shenzhen, and here are 4 places we highly recommend you go!

#1 Dongmen Pedestrian Street 东门步行街

THE place for shopping. We decided to stay near Dongmen, Hyatt Place Dongmen, to make sure we can do as much shopping as possible. This whole area was buzzing with people and gave similar vibes as South Korea’s Myeongdong and Taipei’s Ximending, supercharged.

In this area, you find a huge range of shopping to do. Explore the small alleys, and individual buildings and you will find yourself in rows of shops selling all kinds of stuff. It was disorienting at first, but we got used to it soon.

To get to Dongmen Pedestrian Street, take Line 1 or Line 3 to Laojie (老街). Most of the metro exits will take you to some part of Dongmen. Suggest you start from Exit E or F in your exploration.

#2 Huaqiangbei Electronics Market 华强北

There are many buildings here packed with hundred (maybe thousands) stalls selling all kinds of electrical, electronics and accessories. You can get a sense of the scale and massiveness of this area with a quick Youtube search.

We replaced our iPad Pro screen for only 600 yuan, after negotiation. We opted for the “better” screen which allows Apple pencil use. The screen replacement could be cheaper if you do not need Apple pencil compatibility. The workmanship and quality of the screen replacement was decent. And there were no issues with the screen after 3 months still.

There are also non-electronics shopping malls along the street, some with luxury brands. You can easily spend the whole day wandering and shopping. Some notable finds:

1. Mobile accessories - iPhone/iPad covers and screen protectors. It will not be easy to find other Brands though. The stalls are flooded with Apple and Chinese mobile brands (eg. Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, etc.).

2. Electric Toothbrush.

3. Drones. Mostly DJI.

To get to Huaqiangbei, take the metro to either 华强北 or 华新 station. The main street is actually in between these 2 stations.

#3 Window of the World 世界之窗

This place needs little introduction. It is probably the top recommendation for places to visit in Shenzhen. Visiting during Halloween season was especially fun! Staff was dressed for the occasion and we were impressed by the decorations put up there. We highly recommend going! Night tickets, for entry after 6pm, are cheaper too (100 yuan vs 220 yuan)!

The most convenient, and cheaper, way to secure tickets was via the Super Apps. But it was impossible to buy without a local mobile number. So we had to buy the ticket from the ticket counter, and they only start selling night tickets at 6pm. Else, try for cheaper tickets via Klook.

Queues start forming before 6pm, but it gets cleared quite fast. There are a very limited number of lockers for rent near the ticket counter, so travel light and bring water. It is a huge park and there is much to explore, with decent food options too. People of all ages are gonna find plenty to do or see there. Be sure to grab a map of the park after you enter the park.

Simply take the metro to 世界之窗 station and you are right at the entrance. Super convenient!

#4 Sea World 海上世界

The centrepiece of Sea World is the defunct ship, Minghua, in the man-made “sea”. Sea World is suited for families to visit, with plenty of open space to roam. It is also right next to Nvwa Park (女娲滨海公园) by the actual waterfront.

We tried the crab porridge at 金稻园砂锅粥 and it was pretty good, almost as good as the famous crab porridge at Macau. We should have ordered their “特大蟹” in hindsight, it was only 20 yuan more. Using the maps we mentioned above, it was easy to get around and find food options. While it is mostly in Chinese, you may still find some results using english too.

Getting to Sea World is simple, take the metro to 海上世界 station and take Exit A.

China has transformed quickly all these years and we liked how easy it was to get around now. However, accessibility of information is still not tourist friendly, especially if you are non-Chinese speaking. Payment in China is also very unfamiliar. We wrote another post on “Going Cashless in China for Tourists”. Be sure to check it out to have an idea about how to use WeChat Pay or Alipay when you are visiting China!

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