[DIARIES] 20141220 Day 4 Shenzhen - Nanshan, Luohu

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Day 4 - 20 Dec 2014



Rise and shine Shenzhen! After a long night sleep, it's time for another adventurous day at a totally unknown place to me. Packed up and walk out of the hotel building and noticed the street is very busy with lots of people moving around. Livelihood in China is very competitive and everyone is struggling to make ends meet. Every business is an opportunity to make money, just like the street vendor above who offers shoe mending services just randomly by the street.


Bicycle is a very common mode of transportation here in Shenzhen, or generally in China, given the versatility and most of all, free. Electric bikes or carriages are very commonly seen here as well.


First stop today is the Nanshan district, which is one of the six district at Shenzhen and was developed into a commercial district with various theme parks and commercial activity back in the 1970's. A few well known theme parks like the Window of the World and the Chinese Cultural Village are located there. I took a bus towards the Luohu terminal where I crossed the border from Hong Kong the previous day. A typical bus ride with air condition set me off for RMB2. The buses are very frequent and the driving style is quite aggressive yet safe.


Was welcomed by the clear blue sky today which is fantastic for photographing. The long cab line at the other side of the road when approaching the terminal.


The bus stops at an open air terminal nearby to the Luohu terminal. From here, I need to cross the road and walk towards the main building. I noticed a very unique phenomenon when using their pedestrian bridge. The bridge is designed with a slope at the middle of the stairs, which is actually for the people to pull their luggage or goods up instead of carrying it up, and the luggage trail has engraved into the stone over time, resulting in a groove-liked trail. A simple design that solves common problem.


Solved my breakfast at a restaurant in Luohu terminal by ordering a stir-fried soy sauce noodle set with milk tea. Not too bad but was a bit pricey with basically just plain noodle and some chives. Food in China is not as cheap as I thought, maybe this was due to the proximity to Hong Kong. Perhaps other places will be cheaper, I guessed.


Headed to the Shenzhen metro station after breakfast and noticed a long row of token vending machines to cater for the huge crowd. The metro here uses something similar to our LRT, which is a coin-shaped plastic token.


The metro is very modern and fast, somewhat like the Hong Kong's MTR. People here are somewhat more civilised than I thought where they will automatically give up their seats to the needy and elderly. Something that I don't expect much here, even in Malaysia. Often I see the youngsters in Malaysia don't really have any civic concious, while the working class are generally better.


The trip to Window of the World station took about 20 minutes, across countless stops. They have this acrylic board with calligraphy writings of the station name at each station, which is something unique like the mosaic writings at Hong Kong MTR stations. However, the presentation needs to be improved as it is rather cheap like.

There are many hagglers waiting for tourists right after your step out from the exit, asking you whether you are interested in their tour package or tickets which are cheaper than counter price. I would say 100% of these would be fake or fraudulent. I ignored them by saying some English and proceed towards the station's exit. The exit is actually a glass prism/pyramid that reassembles the Louvre Pyramid in Paris.


From the outside you can actually see the replica of it, which is not really identical in my opinion, or they never intend to replicate it, perhaps?


To be honest, I'm not really interested in visiting the Window of the World given the limited time and the bad reviews. I'm merely doing window-travelling at Nanshan district as it is very commercialised and not really my preferred travel method. Took a few pictures of the surroundings, including this big fountain, shot with my ultra wide angle lens with CPL filter on.


One thing I like about Shenzhen is that the pedestrian streets are very wide and comfortable to walk with lush greenery, especially under the cooling weather. I walked to the east towards the next destination, which is the Splendid China, or also known as the Chinese Cultural Village. It is also a theme park, where they showcase most of the different ethnics present in China along with some cultural show. Most people would recommend this instead of Window of the World if you have to choose only one.


Most of the things in Chine can be described in a word -- BIG. Everything is big here, the theme park is big, the roads are wide, the crowd is huge and the statues are also enormous. The weather is really perfect today.


The Chinese Cultural Village looks like a pretty boring place from the outside and no idea whether I should spend my day here. After much consideration, I decided to skip it and take a tour from the outside instead.


I opt for the visitor monorail that will tour around a few hot spots around Nanshan district that cost me RMB50. The monorail ride took about 40 minutes, across few different spots, giving you an bird eye view of what Nanshan district has to offer.


One of the few places that the monorail will pass by includes the Happy Valley or 欢乐谷 in Chinese.


It also passes by the Window of the World as you can notice the prism shape Metro station from afar. I'm quite amazed with the quality of the roads here in Shenzhen, flat, uniform and most importantly, no holes spotted. A huge contrast to what we have here.


The monorail took me back to my departing station after passing through a few places, giving me a glimpse of what to expect in various hot spots. If you ask me whether it worth the ride? To be frank, I would think that it was a bit waste of time but more towards a concentration of what to expect. At the other side of the entrance is where the huge stone arch is located.


I saw a huge watermill at the side of the stone arch which is actually functioning, but not too sure it's turning due to hydraulic power or powered by electric motors. Can't really examine it from far, I took a video of the watermill in action and will upload it after I have the time.

I waited for the public bus right opposite the entrance. As long as you are able to read Chinese characters, you basically will not get lost in China. The bus routes and bus types are clearly displayed at the bus stops, making sure you know which bus to take. When in doubt, just ask the driver politely and they will nod or shake their head. 



It doesn't take long for the bus to arrive and this bus is slightly different from the one I took earlier. It has a bus attendant, a female bus attendant to be precise. I opt to stand at the front of the bus to have a view of the surroundings. Shenzhen is a very beautiful city with very well planned roads and nice trees. Just look through the wind screen and you will notice the difference. How much the country has advanced from our perception of an old communist era. If Shenzhen is already this good, can't imagine the capital Beijing or Shanghai.

As the bus approached stop by stop, the very efficient bus attendant will actually announce what's the next stop and queue for people to get ready to disembark, whenever there's an elderly/childern onboard, she will shout out "elderly onboard" and people will automatically give up their seats for the needy. Such systematic yet automated civic awareness that truly amazed me. Malaysia is seriously going against time, regression into a less civilised society in comparison.


Finally I arrived at my destination, i.e. Dong Men (East Gate) at Luohu district. Dong Men, or also known as Laojie (old street) is actually the ancient trade centre where merchants will gather daily to sell their goods. It has now evolved into a full fledged commercial area with various complexes and shops, not forgetting street food.


It's a weekday afternoon and the street is packed with human, as if no one needs to go to work or school and all out for shopping. First impression was the fashion in Shenzhen is 5 to 10 years behind Hong Kong where cheap counterfeits, pretend-to-be hipster style of fashion are commonly seen.


It was too long for me to spot my first street food with the irresistible aroma of BBQ meat. Saw this newly renovated corner shop at the junction towards the main pedestrian street called Kiyomi that sells various kind of street food. I'm particular interested with their Xinjiang mutton skewer which looks very tempting.


Wait no more and bought 4 sticks of the lamb skewers that cost only RMB10. Due to the huge crowd, there's a ticketing booth where you can actually buy coupons to exchange for the food. This is a very efficient system where the one handling the food will only be in charge of preparing and serving it, without the need for him to actually spend time collecting and counting money. 

The skewers did not disappoint with well marinated lamb pieces with sprinkle of Sichuan pepper that gives the kick and numbs your mouth (I have tried a few more stalls at various places after that and none really come close to this). I have tried a few more other choices which you can read in detail in my separate blog post about Kiyomi.


There's also this very tempting sour spicy noodle just next to Kiyomi and I saw many people actually ordered and eating by the road side. From the picture itself it looked very tempting with the red hot soup, especially at the cold weather like this. The skewers just now is already giving my stomach a heating sensation and I can't imagine myself finishing this bowl of sour spicy noodle, which eventually I only managed to finish half of it. The stall name is actually Ba Ge Sour Spicy Noodle 八哥酸辣粉.


An very interesting scene where everyone just hold a bowl of noodle and just sit at the bench by the road side to enjoy their meal.


Spotted this live model standing right outside of a bridal shop wearing a wedding dress and literally be the live signboard of the shop. Competition is so intense in this highly populated country where you have to compete so much in order to survive. Every where is filled with advertisement, as long as your brand or product stands up form the rest, most likely your product will be able to sell better in comparison. Competition is what makes things improve, as opposed to what is happening here where protecting outshines competition.


They tried to replicate Dong Men to be a imitation of Hong Kong where you can see the Kowloon City Mall and Wong Kok Mall opposite to each other. However, the building looks dated, and the merchandise is also somewhat outdated or cheap looking. I didn't expect much to begin with to be honest.


The signboard are also very interesting but not as outstanding as those neon boards at Hong Kong.


There are alteration services at the side alley of the shopping malls at a small fee after you have finished shopping as Dong Men is known for fashion and garments, similar to Pratunam of Bangkok.


Then I saw this kid of a fruit vendor next to the street picking up scrap on the ground and then squat down and picked up some coloured waste and started drawing mindlessly. This scene struck me as the kid seemed to enjoy his time doing all these despite being in such a condition. It makes me rethink and to appreciate what life has to offer for you and to remind you that some people at the other part of the world is not as fortunate as you, but nonetheless, never fail to seek joy in life no matter how harsh the condition is.


Out of sympathy, I bought two pieces of melon from the kid's father, hopefully able to help out a little bit as life is tough. There are many similar melon vendors around thou. Each piece only cost RMB2.


Along the way I saw a new building is undergoing renovation and fliers were given out to passer-by that a new "Korean" complex is opening soon. Looks like Dong Men will soon shift from the old Hong Kong style to the latest K-fashion to suit the trend. At the centre of Dong Men is where the central square is located with a bronze wall sculpture of the old Dong Men to symbolize the historical sentiments of the area.


The more creative you are in advertising your store, the more crowd you will attract. This is very true in China. or at least at Guangdong district. The key is to create more exposure than your competitors.


Walked further inside into Dong Men and the crowd is building up with more stores. The very Traditional Chinese looked pagoda is actually the other entrance of old Dong Men.


Here you will find more street food and variety from various district of China, including this picture of a kebab seller, or also known as 肉夹馍 (meat enveloped in bun) locally. Other varieties including Peking Duck (thou not authentic), smelly (fermented) tofu, dumplings, skewers, grilled oysters, grilled scallop etc.


The grilled minced garlic oyster, which is very tempting, and not to mention very cheap as well. 3 or 4 of these will only cost you RMB10.


More food stall for you foodies!! But beware of hygiene.


I stopped by another stall that sells sour spicy noodle but with a different kind of noodle, which is something made of bean starch that has a more chewy texture than normal noodles. Not too bad but my stomach is starting to give up due to excessive heat.


The sky is getting dark and it's time for me to leave Dong Men to head to my dinner venue, Leyuan Road, which is very well known for serving seafood.


I decided to go there by foot instead of Metro after gauging the distance, this also give me the chance to explore the other side of Shenzhen instead of just focusing on the touristy spots. Everything seems


I then pass by this stall that sells flatbread that's originated from Xinjiang. Despite still full from all the food just now and going to have my dinner soon, I still bought one piece to try.


It tasted something like a naan bread with a harder texture and with pieces of onion for aroma. Read more about my review on the flatbread at a separate post.


Passed by some stalls and markets and was amazed by how they sell their vegetables. Just scattered on the floor in piles and people will just come and pick.


There are also some interesting shops that sell smoked meat and smoked ham.


And also the famous Chinese hairy crabs or also known as Da Zha Xie (大闸蟹) and they are actually smaller than I expected. These crabs are not originated in Shenzhen but often shipped here or Hong Kong due to its high demand from these areas. These crabs are mainly consumed for their paste instead of meat. However, recent arguments that the breeding method is questionable and the crabs are actually not safe for consumption.


Along the streets there will be some street vendors from Xinjiang selling wallnuts and raisins, which are produced in Xinjiang. Knowing the prices here in Malaysia, the price in Shenzhen is cheaper about 30% with better quality.


Slowly inching my way towards Leyuan street while the sky changes colour, the buildings started to light up. I actually enjoyed walking on the streets mainly due to the cool weather, but the streets are surprisingly very clean and well maintained with rows of trees planted along the roads.


The streets are rather quiet despite the huge population here. Legs getting tired from the whole day walk but the dinner will be my last stop for the day..


Spotted these cute little police scooters along the way and I noticed in China, there's a difference between police and Gong An (Public Security in direct translation). The police seems to have a smaller role and mainly to maintain order while more serious matters will be handled by Gong An.


Finally I arrived at Leyuan Road and basically the whole street is filled with seafood restaurant. Some having better business than the others.


The one I'm heading is slightly towards the end of the road and is recommended by the locals and confirmed with the huge number of patrons when I arrived. The Hua Cheng Seafood Restaurant is a big restaurant with three premises combined.



The seafood here can be either hand picked from the aquariums outside of the restaurant or "hand picked" from the menu.


Ordered a few dishes to try but I will only share two specials one in this post. The rest of the review can be referred in a separate post dedicated for Hua Cheng Seafood Restaurant only. The picture above is actually Salt & Pepper Mantis Prawns.


Another dish I would like to share is actually the Duo Bao Fish (Turbo Fish), which is actually a kind of flat fish that is not that common in Malaysia.


What's interesting about this picture? They are actually motorcycle taxis! But I never tried their services. It's also one efficient way to travel along the narrow roads or busy roads.


On the way back to my hotel I saw this repair shop along the road. An old man is working in the dark to repair the battery powered trailers. It's actually very dark I have to pump up my ISO to 6400 and hand held for long exposure with F2.8 aperture, further processed in lightroom to pump up another 1.5 stops just to show you this hard working old man.

Finally I'm back at my hotel and instantly collapsed on the bed after a good hot water shower and half a bottle of beer. That's it for Day 4.


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