Welcome to Shenzhen

   Shenzhen, situated just across the border from Hong Kong, is a beautiful coastal garden city in South China. It is a city of sunshine and modernity, where economic development keeps pace with social development, and people live in harmony with nature.

   Shenzhen, which is the China’s first special economic zone, is a pioneering and innovative city. It is in the vanguard of China’s reforms and opening up to the rest of the world. In its short history of 34 years, Shenzhen has developed from a small fishing village into a modern city with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita which gives it premier ranking in China. This is a remarkable achievement, notable in the annals of urbanization, industrialization and modernization across the globe.

   As Shenzhen embraces the world, concomitantly it is becoming internationalized. As China’s first special economic zone, Shenzhen began to open up to the rest of the world in 1980, becoming one of the country’s major channels of communication with the outside world. Shenzhen has 17 sea, land and air ports, including China’s largest land passenger port and land cargo port. In 2011, the 26th Universiade was held here, which made Shenzhen the youngest city in history to host the Games.

   Shenzhen is a city with deep cultural roots that sit in tandem with its creative and modern ethos. It is said to have a history of 5,000 years, but was only founded 34 years ago. Since its foundation, Shenzhen has created a migrant culture and an innovative spirit of “encouraging innovation and pursuing excellence.” At the forefront of Chinese cities in promoting the use of voluntary services, it boasts about 530,000 volunteers in various fields of activity.

Travel Information

Participants can first fly to Hong Kong International Airport, and then travel to Shenzhen by land or by ferry.

By land: Hong Kong International Airport has shuttle car services to Shenzhen through 4 land border crossings:

• Lo Wu
• Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang
• Lok Ma Chau/Futian Kou'an
• Shenzhen Bay

By ferry: A ferry boat connects Hong Kong International Airport and Shenshen Shekou port by a traveling time of 30 minutes:

1. The ferry pier SkyPier is INSIDE the Hong Kong airport restricted area. If you want to take the ferry, you should NOT go through Hong Kong Customs.
2. The ferry ticket office is in Terminal 2, E2 area.
3. The ferry company staff will help to bring passenger's check-in luggage to the ferry. When purchasing the ferry tickets, passengers need to show their check-in luggage tickets to the ferry staff who will bring the luggage to the boat. It is better to make sure that the luggage is on the same boat. The passenger can pick up the luggage at Shekou Port.

Please see wikiTravel and TripAdvisor for detailed guide.

Places of Interest

Shenzhen Happy Valley
China Folk Cultural Village
Window of The World
Dameisha and Xiaomeisha Scenic Area
Donghu Park