Travel experiences: Shenzhen, China

When I arrived in Shenzhen I was a westerner with blond long hair dressed in business attire and ready to open new office’s for my company based out of Los Angeles, California. I am a Native New Yorker, born and raised I must say! When I arrived in Hong Kong I was escorted to a bus that would take me across the border into mainland China, where Shenzhen is located. It is at the south eastern tip of China, and back then in order to get to Shenzhen you had to go through customs twice. It has been almost a decade since then, and now I know I can fly into Shanghai then down into Shenzhen and only endure custom’s one time. I must say Shenzhen was a surprise for me, it is very modern with beautiful sky scrapers. You must see the #1 Building it is beautiful, and Windows of the World is located just south of midtown Shenzhen. At Windows you can see replica’s of the seven wonders of the world, its quite an interesting day. I learned all about the Chinese culture and its people spending my time in Shenzhen. It is such a lovely city, you can eat at a sidewalk push cart (something I am hesitant to do in New York), or at an exclusive 5 star restaurant, located near the train station. Shenzhen has mass transit, but I preferred to walk my way around. The city is so alive, with a median age of 26, I felt old at 30. Shenzhen has some of the best shopping also, there is a huge mall up past the Shangri La hotel by the train station. The mall is like a bizarre and you can haggle your way to a decent price if you want to try your hand at that. If you’re away from home to long you can jump into the Shangri La hotel where there is a westernized burger joint. Believe it or not, the burgers are big, juicy, and the drinks are great. I can only attest to the warmth I felt while staying there, this city is also a quick plane ride away to cities like Shanghai, Suzhou, and Beijing. I would recommend anyone to go visit China, you will love it, don’t forget to stop at my home away from home, Shenzhen.