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Private car and metro briefingsEnglish-speaking guidesFactory and lab visits arrangedBorder handling to HK

GUANGDONG · FORTY YEARS IN A GENERATION

Shenzhen is the city you visit to understand where the last forty years went

A fishing town of 30,000 people in 1979, now 17 million and the hardware capital of the planet. It is also the easiest place in China to bring a business day and a family day into the same itinerary, with Hong Kong a border crossing away and Guangzhou half an hour down the line.

Start my itinerary

1979Special zone begins

17 MResidents today

30 minRail to Guangzhou

4Border crossings we use

THE JOURNEY

Three Shenzhen trips in one city

The technology trip. Huaqiangbei is nine square blocks of component suppliers, assembly floors and showrooms where a product goes from a bench to a pallet. It is not a mall and it does not behave like one; it needs someone who speaks the trade, knows which building has the counterfeit problem and which has the real engineers, and can get you into a supplier meeting with an hour's notice.

The family trip. Shenzhen's theme-park cluster in Nanshan does the impossible — Window of the World at scale, Happy Valley for the coasters, and OCT's eastern town for the slow evening. Add the Safari Park and the bay boardwalks and three days go quietly.

The city trip. Shenzhen has an honest thirty-year museum, a coastal art district in Old Town, the Hakka walled village at Gankeng with its lantern festival, and the Shenzhen Bay boardwalk for the sunset with the metropolis behind you. It is greener and more walkable than its reputation.

And then the border

Futian and Luohu crossings both connect to the MTR and, at Futian, to the high-speed line. Used correctly, Shenzhen becomes the mainland half of a Guangdong plan — Hong Kong for a day, Macau by ferry, Guangzhou for dim sum and the Cantonese opera museum.

WHY WITH MEIAN

What we handle on a Shenzhen stay

Meetings, borders and the difference between a market and a museum.

Supplier visits done properly

Appointments confirmed in Chinese, an interpreter who knows the vocabulary, a written summary of what was said, and no surprise entry fees at a showroom door.

Border crossings without the queue

We route you to the crossing that is actually short that hour, walk you through the document lane, and have the Hong Kong side waiting on the other end.

Guides who can switch register

The same trip needs a trade interpreter in the morning and someone who can keep a seven-year-old interested at the aquarium in the afternoon. We send the right one each time.

SAMPLE ROUTES

Three shapes travellers start from

Nothing here is fixed stock — each one is a starting shape that we re-draw around your dates, pace and the people travelling with you.

Shenzhen city and bay

3 DAYSFirst visit, no business commitments, comfortable pace.

DAY 1arrival

Nanshan, Sea World and the bay boardwalk

Meet at Bao'an airport or Shenzhen North, check in near Houhai, then the waterfront as the towers light up.

Houhai, Nanshan

DAY 2morning

Huaqiangbei, then OCT-LOFT

Two hours on the component blocks with a trade guide, lunch in the shadow of the towers, afternoon in the design district's bookshops and coffee roasters.

Houhai

DAY 3departure

Gankeng Hakka town or Lianhuashan park

Choose the old village or the park with the statue and the whole CBD view, then transfer to the border or the airport.

Shenzhen with children

4 DAYSTheme parks, animals and one science museum, never two big things in a day.

DAY 1

Arrival and Window of the World

The miniature-world park at dusk, when the lighting works and the queues do not exist.

Nanshan

DAY 2

Safari Park, then the bay

Cable-car safari in the morning, boat or beach in the afternoon, early night.

Nanshan

DAY 3

Happy Valley or the aquarium

Coasters for teenagers, aquarium for smaller children — decided by the party, not by the brochure.

Nanshan

DAY 4

Science museum and departure

Shenzhen's museum is one of the better ones in China and it is indoors, which matters in July.

Guangdong combined

6 DAYSShenzhen, Hong Kong and Guangzhou in one document, one driver per city.

DAY 1–2

Shenzhen

City, bay and the market visit you actually came for.

Shenzhen

DAY 3

Cross to Hong Kong at Futian

We handle both sides of the crossing, then Kowloon's night markets and the peak view by a route that avoids the queue.

Hong Kong

DAY 4

Hong Kong to Macau by ferry

One hour across the delta, the casino architecture, the Portuguese quarter and the egg tarts.

Macau or back to HK

DAY 5

Return to the mainland for Guangzhou

High-speed rail to the provincial capital, evening on the Pearl with the Canton Tower lit.

Guangzhou

DAY 6

Chen Clan Academy, yum cha, departure

The carved wood and brick of the ancestral hall, a proper morning tea, and a transfer from whichever airport you fly out of.

WHEN TO GO

When to plan the visit

Subtropical, long summers, short pleasant winters.

Oct – DecBEST

Dry, warm, 20–27°C, and the trade shows run. Our default recommendation for both business and family trips.

Feb – AprilGREEN

Warm and humid, occasional haze, flowers out and the Canton Fair in April.

May – SeptHOT

30°C-plus and typhoon risk. Indoor itinerary, museum and mall links, and a flexible plan for the days the weather closes the ferries.

JanuaryMILD

Cool enough for a jacket, quiet, and hotel rates drop. Chinese New Year week empties the city entirely — which has its own appeal.

PRACTICALITIES

For first-time visitors to China

Shenzhen is the softest possible landing in China.

Getting to Shenzhen: Bao'an International Airport (SZX) has direct routes across Southeast Asia and to major Chinese cities; the metro reaches the centre in 40 minutes. Trains arrive at Shenzhen North, and Shenzhen Futian station sits directly under the border crossing.
Visa: Shenzhen is covered by China's visa-free entry and 240-hour transit arrangements for eligible passports, and a visa on arrival route exists for some travellers arriving via Hong Kong or Macau under specific conditions. We confirm what applies to your nationality before you book anything.
Hong Kong and Macau: Both are separate immigration jurisdictions. Depending on your passport and itinerary you may need a China visa plus entry permission for the SARs; we tell you which documents to hold before the crossing rather than at the booth.
Business documentation: Invitation letters for a work visit need your company letterhead details and passport scan. We can issue the counterpart letters from our licence, and we do it for free for anyone travelling with us.
Language: Shenzhen is a migrant city; Mandarin is the common language and English is more widely usable than almost anywhere in mainland China outside Shanghai.
Payment: Full card and mobile-payment coverage. This is the easiest Chinese city to arrive in with only a foreign credit card.

Trade-show dates shift each year. Tell us which one you are attending and we build the trip around its actual hall layout.

WHAT YOU GET

Inclusions, plainly listed

Included in every MEIAN itinerary

Private vehicle and driver for city and delta days, cross-border handling included
English-speaking guide, plus a technical interpreter for supplier and lab visits
Hotel booking in Nanshan, Futian or Luohu depending on what you are doing
Meeting-room and showroom appointments confirmed in writing before you arrive
All entry tickets, park passes and museum reservations named in the plan
Rail and ferry bookings within the delta, including Hong Kong and Macau legs
Daily itinerary document with Chinese addresses, exit names and driver details
7×24 English emergency line for the length of the trip

Priced separately, never hidden

International flights to and from China and Hong Kong
Visa fees, SAR entry permits and consulate charges
Meals, except the business lunch we host
Trade-show badges and exhibition entry fees
Travel insurance — required

A private Shenzhen plan is quoted per party. A technical interpreter for factory days, a cross-border leg to Hong Kong or Macau, or a second driver for the delta moves the number. We quote after we know your dates and your purpose.

QUESTIONS

Asked before booking

Can you arrange factory visits?

Yes, in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Foshan. If you already have suppliers, we coordinate the appointments and provide interpreting. If you do not, we can shortlist and open doors — but we charge honestly for that work and we do not take commissions from the factories.

Is Shenzhen worth visiting purely as a tourist?

If you want the China-of-now version rather than the imperial version, yes: the bay, the design districts, the Hakka villages and the food of twenty provinces. Combine it with Guangzhou or with Guilin rather than spending five days here.

How hard is the Hong Kong crossing?

Straightforward with a car and a guide, annoying alone at the wrong hour. We cross at Futian or Luohu depending on which is quieter at the time and which side you need on arrival.

Do you handle the Canton Fair?

We plan around it, which mostly means booking hotels far earlier than you would expect and routing you away from the traffic the fair generates. Badge and entry questions stay with the fair organisers.

Can a family with young children manage a business day?

Yes — we split the party. One guide takes the factory or meeting, the other runs the safari park or museum, and everyone rejoins for dinner. That is the point of having a private car and two guides rather than a seat on a coach.

OTHER JOURNEYS