[DIARIES] 20141221 Day 5 Shenzhen - Futian

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Day 5 - 21 Dec 2014 (a.m.)


Rise and shine!! Settled my breakfast at the 永和大王 fast food chain right opposite my hotel and ordered some weird glutinous rice burger which taste very weird. I have until noon before I check out and continue my journey to Guangzhou and was wondering how should I spend my morning.


I walked out of the fast food chain towards the main road and notice the newspaper stand in China is very different from Malaysia and somewhat similar to Hong Kong.


It was early in the morning and the locals are getting busy with bikes and cars on the street. I then decided to head to Lizhi Park, which is also Shenzhen's central park with an iconic Kingkey 100 building just next to it.


I stopped a cab and told him my destination. I have no worries taking cab in Shenzhen as they are very professional and cheap. Unlike cabs in Malaysia that charge you a million for a short ride. Cab rides in Shenzhen costs between RMB10 to RMB20 for a fair distance. I arrived at Lizhi Park shortly after grasping the view of the city of Shenzhen.


The park is full of people on a Sunday morning with young and elderly spending good time together. Various activities are being held here including taichi, sword play, dance and traditional dance.


A short walk in the park and I soon arrived at the lake, overseeing the Kingkey 100 building from afar.


Honestly there's nothing much to see during the winter season. The lotus ponds are dried up, with majority greenery with no flowers. The lychee trees (the name Lizhi means lychee) are not bearing any fruit at the moment due to the season.


At most is just a tranquil lake with willow trees at the side. I continue walking towards the Kingkey 100 building towards another exit of the Park.


Kingkey 100 is the tallest building in Shenzhen which is a 100 storey office block located at the new CBD of Shenzhen.


The shape and architecture of the Kingkey is unique in a way that the contour makes it looked like it was bended from a single piece of metal from the side, and a pointy apex from the front. I remember seeing a video of the construction of the building somewhere around but couldn't remember the content.

I took the metro back to my hotel from Kingkey 100 to pack up and say good bye to Shenzhen.


I took a cab back to Luohu Terminal, which is also the inter-city train terminal. China's railway is very advance especially in the recent years will thousands of km railway built to connect all the major cities in China. Imagine the mass of land itself but all within reach via the mighty China railway. I'm totally amazed by their railways.


The intercity trains are very frequent but tickets do sold out very fast! I only managed to get a ticket for Guangzhou East Station instead of the central station, which is much further away from my hotel.


Each train is about 15 to 20 minutes in between and the gate is opened in batches. Signboard showing the next train's number and the public is expected to line up automatically before the gate opens. No broadcast is made except during last call. The number of people is no joke.


Finally it's my turn to board and I'm a bit nervous because it's my first time to travel on a bullet train. The length of the train is amazing with about 13 or 14 coaches, carrying more than a thousand people at a time. Just do a simple math and I can estimate how many people travel between cities everyday.


Ok here I go. Leaving Shenzhen towards Guangzhou which is about 1 and half hours away, covering 3 stops in between before reaching optimum speed of 200km/h. These trains are capable of exceeding 300km/h operational speed.


Overall, this trip to Shenzhen has changed my perception about this place. I used to imagine it as a somewhat underdeveloped city but apparently I think it can be even better than Kuala Lumpur. Really look forward on what to expect for Guangzhou, which is supposed to be a much developed city than Shenzhen.

To be continued in Guangzhou chapter.


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