Shenzhen is a vibrant and modern Chinese city situated at the border with Hong Kong. This city is ideal for a day trip from Hong Kong. Visit the artistic OCT Loft, the techy Huaqiang North, and the vibrant Dongmen Pedestrian Street.
Of course, you won’t be able to explore the whole city in a single day, but it is perfectly possible to see the highlights in one day.
How to get to Shenzhen from Hong Kong
You can easily travel to Shenzhen by train, metro or ferry. Which one is best for you depends on whether you arranged a visa in advance or need to apply for a one day Shenzhen visa on the spot. Traveling to Shenzhen by air is also a possibility but I’m gonna leave it out as it is not very practical (too time consuming).
By train
The high-speed train connection between Hong Kong and Shenzhen is the fastest option. It takes you from West Kowloon Train Station to Shenzhen Futian Station in 15 minutes or to Shenzhen North in 20 minutes. The only drawback is that you need to bring your Chinese visa with you: you can’t arrange a day visa on the spot.
But if you are in possession of a visa, then I recommend taking the train! There are over 80 departures a day between 6 AM and 11 PM. A one-way ticket costs around 10 EUR/USD.
By metro
If you need to arrange a visa on arrival, you can take the metro to Lo Wu metro station. At this station, you can get your visa and continue your trip using the Shenzhen Metro. Lok Ma Chau is also an option, but a less practical one because the visa office is not in the same building as the Hong Kong and Shenzhen metro. Depending on where you’re staying in Hong Kong, the metro ride to the border takes between an hour and an hour and a half and will cost you 5-10 EUR/USD.
By ferry
You can also take the ferry from Hong Kong Macau Port to Shenzhen’s Shekou port and buy a visa on arrival. The ferry ride takes about one hour but is twice as expensive as the metro and the train: around 20 EUR/USD.
Getting a Visa on Arrival
Before considering a visit to Shenzhen, you need to look up the visa requirements for your country, as China’s border is closed to some nationalities. The visa office also looks at countries you traveled to recently. For example, if there is a stamp from Iran in your passport, you’ll likely be turned away at the border (this happened to other travelers right in front of me).
I can only elaborate on the proceedings at Lo Wu station, as that is the route I took in March 2019.Â
From the metro station, you follow the crowd to immigration. Except this is where you need to head to another level before joining the immigration queue. As you need to pay for the visa in Chinese yuan, you need to get your hands on Chinese money first. Fortunately, there is a money exchange office right there so you can exchange your HKD for Chinese yuan. Tip: get some more so you get some spending money at the same time. If you exchange too much, you can easily exchange your excess money again after returning to Hong Kong.
You need to fill in all kinds of forms, have your picture taken at a picture booth, and then draw a number to wait for your turn. The whole process (including waiting times) took me around an hour.
Transport in Shenzhen
From immigration, there are clear directions to the Shenzhen Metro. Before you arrive at the tracks you can buy a metro ticket from a vending machine or an employee at a manned desk. I recommend buying a day ticket at the desk, it’s easy and cheap!
The metro stations are listed in both Chinese and English, completely tourist proof. I thought Google Maps wouldn’t work in Shenzhen and spent time preparing a Chinese public transport app. But Google Maps still worked, probably because Shenzhen is so close to the border. This made navigating public transport very easy.Â
If you’re afraid Google might not work for you, you could use a VPN like NordVPN. This is the one I use at home and when traveling.
WIFI
When renting pocket wifi for Hong Kong, you can pick one that works in Hong Kong, Macao, and Shenzhen. Ideal if you want to visit these three cities on one trip!
Things to do in Shenzhen
1) OCT Loft Shenzhen
Take the metro (green line) to Overseas Chinese Town station. From here it is only a five minutes’ walk to the OCT Loft.
Location (of a restaurant at the OCT Loft): GXPM+GG Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
If you have more time in Shenzhen, you can also visit Splendid China, a theme park about the Chinese cultural heritage.
The art and cozy cafes
This whole place is an expression of art. From the boutiques, cozy cafes, and the restaurants to the buildings they’re housed in. You’re greeted by red metal figures seated on or in front of the buildings. Steampunk style. They’re really interesting to look at because of the expressions on the faces and the objects they are presented with.
OCAT Shenzhen
Hopefully, there is an interesting exhibition when you visit. In March 2019, there was an exhibition called System: Sui Jianguo. The sculptures in the exhibition, both small pieces (test objects) and larger pieces all showed the influence of hands and fingerprints. An artistic view on creation and recognition, space and time, through form, alternative methods, and media types.
Lunch
For lunch, I can recommend My Noodle. Even though the employees don’t speak English, there is an English menu available. Their noodle soup is very good and there are many side dishes to try.
2) COCO Park
Take the metro (green line) to the Shopping Park stop.
Location: G3M3+7Q Futian, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
YO!tea or HEYTEA are two tea shops that sell fresh fruit tea and tea topped with creamy cheese. You’ll find HEYTEA in many of the bigger malls. YO!tea is a bit harder to find, but there is one at COCO Park, a nice modern mall with a good seating area and an outdoor play area for kids.
3) Huaqiang North (Huaqiangbei)
Take the metro (green line) to Huaqiang Road station and enter the Huaqianbei Commercial Street from the south.
Location: G3RP+9M Futian, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
Huaqianbei Commercial street
This street is advertised (by tourists) as ‘the’ tech street in Shenzhen. Here you’ll find a mix of modern shops (Samsung, Apple, and the like) selling high tech products and shabby malls selling all the things you’ll never need (plus some fun tech goodies). If you like fixing the products you already own: here you can also find all the small parts that you would otherwise buy via eBay or AliExpress.
The boulevard itself is broad with some greenery and relaxing to walk on with plenty to see.
4) Dongmen Pedestrian Shopping area
Take the metro (light blue line) from Huaxin station to Laojie station
Location: Pedestrian St, Dongmen, Shenzhen, Luohu District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
Dongmen Pedestrian Shopping Street is probably the most touristy area in Shenzhen. It’s at a walking distance from Luohu and Lo Wu station; the metro that can take you back to Hong Kong.
This area is especially interesting when it gets dark: it is colorful, alive, and there are lots of people hanging out and having fun. At the food stalls, you can try all sorts of food and drinks, but it is also perfectly fine to have a less adventurous meal at a restaurant in one of the malls.
These are the highlights you can’t miss on your day trip to Shenzhen! One day I’ll visit Shenzhen again to explore the other neighborhoods because I really liked this city.
