Shenzhen
the China that built itself in forty years
In 1980 Shenzhen was a fishing village of thirty thousand. Today it is a city of seventeen million, a one-hour ferry from Hong Kong, the centre of China's hardware and design industries. Skylines, contemporary art, Cantonese cuisine on the coast, the Hakka walled villages preserved among the towers, the Dafen oil-painting district that still hand-copies the world's masterpieces. We treat Shenzhen as the modern lens on the rest of the trip, not a tech-park layover.
Why we know Shenzhen
deeply.
The contemporary city, read properly.
Our Shenzhen guides come from architecture, design and tech backgrounds. They read the skyline as a forty-year transformation, not a set of office towers.
Old Hakka next to the new.
The walled villages of Dapeng and Nantou are tucked between the high-rises. We route through both halves of the city, not just the lit-up half.
Cantonese on the coast.
Shenzhen's seafood and dim sum hold their own against Guangzhou's. Our food specialist books the kitchens locals book, not the harbour-view restaurants on the package menu.
Skyline,
walled village,
the painters' district.
Two days does Shenzhen properly. These three anchor most itineraries we plan: the city's design district, a Hakka walled-village morning, and an afternoon in Dafen with the painters.
Futian skyline and design district
From the Ping An observation deck at 562 metres, the city reads as a single forty-year project. Then down at street level, the OCT-LOFT design district holds the contemporary art galleries, the independent bookshops and the studios behind much of China's contemporary design.
Private observation-deck slot before the morning crowds, then an afternoon walk through OCT-LOFT with a curator who knows which galleries are showing now.
Dapeng Fortress and the Hakka coast
A Ming-era walled garrison village on the eastern coast, an hour from the city. The walls, the temple, the lanes and the Hakka families who never left, set between protected beaches that few foreign visitors see.
Private morning visit before the weekend day-trippers arrive, with a Hakka family lunch in a courtyard house inside the walls.
Dafen Oil Painting Village
The Shenzhen district where ten thousand painters hand-copy the world's masterpieces, supplying galleries from Paris to Dubai. The studios are open to the street; you can watch a Van Gogh emerging at the bench beside you. A genuine cultural curiosity, not a tourist demonstration.
We arrange a studio visit with one of the senior painters, an explanation of the trade, and an unhurried hour in the small galleries that hold the original work the village's painters do under their own names.
One day,
the new city,
the old coast.
Two nights does Shenzhen well as the contemporary bookend to a Guangzhou or Hong Kong trip. This is the shape we'd suggest for a first day.
- Day 01
Skyline morning, OCT-LOFT afternoon, Cantonese dinner.
Private observation-deck slot at Ping An at first opening. Late morning at the Shenzhen Museum for the forty-year transformation story. Long Cantonese lunch in Futian. Afternoon walk through OCT-LOFT with our design specialist. Evening at a kitchen the locals book.
- Ping An observation deck at first opening, the city as one project.
- OCT-LOFT walk with a curator on the current shows.
- Cantonese dinner at the counter the food specialist holds the reservation for.
Best time
October to April (avoid July to September monsoon)
Days needed
2 to 3 days
Where it sits
One-hour ferry from Hong Kong · 30 minutes by high-speed rail from Guangzhou
From · per person
US$1,960
Hand us the dream,
We carry it through.
From your first enquiry to your last airport pickup, our specialists design your trip and stay in contact every step of the way. The guides, drivers and hotels you'll meet are part of our trusted network we've worked with for years, briefed to the same standards.
- Dedicated specialists, start to finish
- Guides briefed to our standards
- Fully transparent, no hidden costs
- No deposit until you confirm
Stretch the trip. Stitch in another.
Guangzhou
Thirty minutes by high-speed rail north. The Cantonese pair: Guangzhou for the trade-era heritage, Shenzhen for the forty-year future.
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Fuzhou
Coastal pair along the southeast. Min culture in Fuzhou, Cantonese in Shenzhen, two hours apart by high-speed rail.
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Shanghai
Two-hour flight north. The two faces of modern China: Shenzhen as the forty-year city, Shanghai as the century-long one.
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Jack Guo
Senior Travel Specialist
Jack has spent ten years working with the guides, drivers and hoteliers across China. He'll be your contact from first enquiry to final airport pickup.
Tell us about your Shenzhen trip
Five quick questions. We'll send you a Shenzhen-anchored draft with the price within one business day. No deposit. No hard-sell.