Shenzhen (Chinese: 深圳 ) is a major city in Guangdong Province, China. It is located immediately to the north of Hong Kong. Shenzhen was the first of the many Special Economic Zones that was created under the economic liberation policies of Deng Xiaoping. The amount of direct foreign investment in Shenzhen has totalled over US$30 billion, and this has spurred the city to become one of the fastest growing in the world.
Shenzhen City Hall
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shenzhen%27s_city_hall.jpg Author: Robert Scoble
Shenzhen is the financial center for southern China. It is the home of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It also has the second busiest port in mainland China after Shanghai.
The name Shenzhen appeared for the first time in historical chronicles of 1410, during the Ming Dynasty. The name Shenzhen means "deep drains", in reference to the ditches that cross the rivers in the paddy fields.
Until it was singled out by Deng Xiaoping for development, Shenzhen was nothing more than a fishing village. The choice of Shenzhen has much to do with its proximity to Hong Kong. The municipality of Shenzhen has a population of 8.6 million people, as of 2007.
The Shenzhen Bao'an International Airpoort is the main international gateway to Shenzhen. The airport is connected to downtown Shenzhen by a coach service. It goes to the Ke Xue Guan Metro station. The fare is ¥25.
Exploring Shenzhen
Then Shenzhen Metro is the most convenient way to get about in the city. The fare ranges from ¥2 to ¥5. Tickets, in the form of plastic tokens, are bought from vending machines. If you are going to use the metro often, then get the stored-value card, which you touch on the turnstile sensor as you enter and exit the platform. The card can be purchased from the ticket window.
The wealth generated by the booming economy has translated itself into several cutting-edge buildings in Shenzhen.
Shenzhen City Hall A stunning piece of architecture in downtown Shenzhen.
Shenzhen Library Architectural masterpiece of black granite and folded glass.
Shenzhen Concert Hall A beautiful building in a glass-wrapped setting.
Shenzhen Children's Palace Facility for children to engage in extra-curricular activities.
Theme Parks
The tourist attractions of Shenzhen are mostly of the theme park variety, as this is a relatively new city.
Window of the World A 48,000 square meter park where the famous sights of the world are replicated in miniature.
Splendid China & Chinese Folk Culture Village Splendid China is another park of miniatures, here of sights in China, while Chinese Folk Culture Village is a living museum with 56 houses representing different communities in China, peopled by representatives of each group showcasing their culture.
Happy Valley Theme Park A theme park like Hong Kong Disneyland, but a lot bigger - and some say, better.
Minsk World Military theme park on the Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk, complete with aircrafts.
Shenzhen Museum Museum housed in the futuristic Shenzhen City Hall building.
Shenzhen Art Museum Museum showcasing local and international works of art.
Dafen Oil Painting Village Oil painting village set in an old Hakka village.
He Xiangning Art Museum This is the second national art museum of China.
OCT Art and Design Gallery Gallery exhibition industrial, domestic and fashion designs of China.
Temples of Shenzhen
Hongfa Buddhist Temple Temple located at the park of the Lake of the Immortals.
Chiwan Tin Hau Temple The biggest and most splendid temple to Tin Hau, the Taoist god of heaven.
Historical Sites of Shenzhen
It is surprising for many - the locals included - that there is a longer history to Shenzhen than they have expected. Apparently the area has been a stage for many historical events long before it became present-day Shenzhen.
Tomb of the Young Song Emperor Tomb of the last emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Xin'an (Nantou) Ancient City This is the original main town of the county that encompasses the whole area that is present-day Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Dapeng Ancient Fort A well-preserved Ming Dynasty fort from 1394.
Crane Lake Fortified Hakka Village and Hakka Culture Museum A glimpse at the fortified village of the Hakka people. The Crane Lake Fortified Hakka village is the biggest.
Dawanshiju Hakka Fortified Village Another fortified village of the Hakka.
Chiwan Left Fort Fort built to defend against British advances.
Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.
Disclaimer
Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.