Best place to stay in Shenzhen? Recomondations

[chefkoch84]

Hi all,

I will be visiting Shenzhen for 3  days.

Are there any recommendations for the best area to stay.
I am of course interested in the electronics.... but this should not be the only consideration.U know the (non-nerd) lady is joining :-)
If anybody can recommend a kind of cool central busy area - featuring streetfood etc. ... we would highly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance
Max

[johnboxall]

We stay at the HQB Plaza hotel:
http://www.hqplazahotel.net/
Non-electronics people can wander about, go to the miniature world on the subway.
There's a few department stores down the road, however after the first visit to SZ, Mrs Tronixlabs prefers to stay in Hong Kong. (Starbucks in SZ uses UHT milk. Blergh).

[janekm]

Well, it depends a bit on what you like to do.

If you like a theme park athmosphere, then the already mentioned Window of the World is nice enough (lots of miniature buildings, a terrifyingly rickety 1/3rd scale Eiffel tower and a dance show in the evening), as is "Splendid China" which is a similar thing intended to introduce different ethnic groups in China.
There is also a quite impressive light & water show (with dancing) at OCT Bay (but it's a bit aimed at kids).

OCT Bay is a nice area for eating in some nice restaurants (the Korean restaurant there is a good one) and just general evening strolling. There's an Ole supermarket there which is fun to browse through as they import food / snacks from around the world. There's a big Imax cinema there too but you probably wouldn't want to waste your time watching movies 
OCT Loft is a very pleasant "artsy" area with different cafes, restaurants and galleries.

MixC is a giant mall, fun for some window shopping.
The botanic gardens are nice (but huge, lots of walking).

Public transport in Shenzhen is excellent so I would recommend staying somewhere along the green line between "Window of the World" and "Laojie" stations, that way you will have easy access to the major sites.
If you feel like splurging, the St. Regis hotel is on the top floors of the previously tallest building in Shenzhen so you'd get amazing views. If you just want to check out the view you can visit the bar at the top, you have to buy a fairly expensive drinks/food voucher in the foyer to get access but it's worth it for the view. I've also heard good things about the Westin hotel located at Window of the World station.

In terms of food, if you like beef, I recommend trying the Chaoshan style hotpot (Chaoshan is a few hours up the coast from Shenzhen, so it's still sort of local). It's based on a beef stock base rather than the typical Chinese "pot of chili oil" hotpot which will make you feel very ill the next day. And if you see anyone selling "pineapple on a stick" then go for it, they're local pineapples and really tasty. Dragonfruit is also local to Guangdong province.

Let me know if you fancy an "eevblog mini-meet" while you're here, we could grab a beer or something 

[janekm]

(Starbucks in SZ uses UHT milk. Blergh).

Drinking Starbucks in China (even HK) would indeed be a travesty, there are so many better places. In Shenzhen Aix Arome is a good common chain, but there are also many good local cafes. "Gee Coffee" in OCT Loft is really good, world class. Maan cafe has great waffles and OK coffee  In Hong Kong, "Cafe Life" in PMQ is really good. Yes, I'm a bit obsessed about good coffee 

[tautech]

(Starbucks in SZ uses UHT milk. Blergh).

Drinking Starbucks in China (even HK) would indeed be a travesty, there are so many better places. In Shenzhen Aix Arome is a good common chain, but there are also many good local cafes. "Gee Coffee" in OCT Loft is really good, world class. Maan cafe has great waffles and OK coffee  In Hong Kong, "Cafe Life" in PMQ is really good. Yes, I'm a bit obsessed about good coffee 

OK we get the coffee bit  but which roads and shops for electronic stuff ?

[janekm]

OK we get the coffee bit  but which roads and shops for electronic stuff ?

Huaqiang Bei area is probably still the most fun for a first visit. There are more than a dozen department-store sized buildings with different floors filled with single-desk stores which are typically representatives for different factories / distributor companies. Not very practical for actual sourcing (leave it to the pros who have the rolodex of contacts) but great to get a feel for what exists (like what SMD buttons are common? What's the cheapest SOT-23 mosfet?).

There are some nice "makerspaces", coworking spaces etc but might not be essential for a first visit (except for making contacts). "Troublemaker" in HQB is a good network of people to link up with. I'm based in "Litchee Lab" near "Shenzhen University" metro station which is a very friendly (and genuine) place

Most of the factories in Shenzhen are located in Baoan near the airport, or across the mountains in Donguan. There are some interesting more specialised markets near the factories, especially the industrial automation market which is chock full of giant servo motors, linear rails, pneumatic actuators, etc etc.

[tautech]

OK we get the coffee bit  but which roads and shops for electronic stuff ?

Huaqiang Bei area is probably still the most fun for a first visit. There are more than a dozen department-store sized buildings with different floors filled with single-desk stores which are typically representatives for different factories / distributor companies. Not very practical for actual sourcing (leave it to the pros who have the rolodex of contacts) but great to get a feel for what exists (like what SMD buttons are common? What's the cheapest SOT-23 mosfet?).

There are some nice "makerspaces", coworking spaces etc but might not be essential for a first visit (except for making contacts). "Troublemaker" in HQB is a good network of people to link up with. I'm based in "Litchee Lab" near "Shenzhen University" metro station which is a very friendly (and genuine) place

Most of the factories in Shenzhen are located in Baoan near the airport, or across the mountains in Donguan. There are some interesting more specialised markets near the factories, especially the industrial automation market which is chock full of giant servo motors, linear rails, pneumatic actuators, etc etc.

Thanks.
I do regret not spending a day or two more there when I visited Siglent in Baoan district but we were staying in HK and only had just one day to whip over the border into Shenzhen and back to HK before travelling elsewhere. Not having travelled lots I can say I was pretty nervous getting into China by train, the border crossing and a further two train changes but having planned it well it was quite straightforward and a great experience. The people were friendly and nice and the underground is easy to follow.

Might go to the big electronic fair in HK this October, it's a week long affair so probably again I won't get a chance to get to the Shenzhen shops. 

[chefkoch84]

Thanks for all the helpful replys.

We will be at Shenzhen from 30th of April to 02nd of May. And we booked a hotel near the window of the world an green line, as suggested.

I would love to grab some beers with fellow nerds :-)

Do you think a meeting on 1st of May feasable? (having the state holliday in mind)
I own a beer at least to everybody who contributed all the tips in this thread.
Greetings

[ebclr]

Shenzhen have a good metro system, Holiday Inn Express Shenzhen Luohu is one excellent option

Be ready very few people can speak English there

[janekm]

Unfortunately I happen to be out of town myself from the 28th until the 2nd, perfect timing

You could probably find some of the troublemaker crowd up for grabbing a drink though.

Don't worry bars and restaurants will be open, but HQB will be closed during May holiday I think.

[coppice]

There are two public holidays next week in China - Monday and Wednesday - and a lot of people get extra holidays around the Mayday holiday. Some things might be a bit quiet next week in Shenzhen, but they never really shut down completely.

[coppice]

We will be at Shenzhen from 30th of April to 02nd of May. And we booked a hotel near the window of the world an green line, as suggested.

Which hotel did you book? The Westin, Venice (or whatever they call it now) and Intercontinental are very nice. The SeaView and others in that area are mostly OK.

[janekm]

Unfortunately I happen to be out of town myself from the 28th until the 2nd, perfect timing

You could probably find some of the troublemaker crowd up for grabbing a drink though.

Don't worry bars and restaurants will be open, but HQB will be closed during May holiday I think.

[chefkoch84]

We booked the
Qiandu Apartment Hotel but still could change if we wanted.
At least location and reviews don't look bad.

I am looking forward to the stay in Shenzhen.
Whoever is in the mood for beer can just write here.





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