Trip to Shenzhen

One of many hibiscuses spotted on a walk

     This week, Melissa and I snuck away to the beautiful city of Shenzhen! Prior to arriving, I had no idea what to expect, except for good dim sum, which was good enough for me! As soon as we got off the plane, Melissa and I started hunting for dim sum spots. On our way over, however, it was impossible not to notice the fresh air and breathtaking views around the city.
     Sadly, I forgot to take any pictures of my food this trip, even though it was all spectacular; I was too busy taking pictures of the scenery!

We could see across the border to Hong Kong!

     After resting up, Melissa and I decided to take a walk to the beach from our airbnb. It had been such a long time since I'd walked along the coastline! We watched birds fly by and observed crabs and mudskippers root around in the mud on the beach as the sun set. The warm air and the beautiful flowers made for a wonderful break from the dreary winter of Shanghai.

I guess the flora and the fauna
weren't the only sights to see

     Since we were so impressed by what we saw on our walk our first evening in Shenzhen, Melissa and I decided to keep adventuring around the city, especially along the coastline. My favorite park we went to over the span of our five day trip was to Mangrove Park; we were able to get very close to the shoreline! So close in fact, that we could see Hong Kong from across the bay! We considered making the trip to Hong Kong, but we decided against it (Shenzhen is an amazing city, and we wanted to fully enjoy it before we started exploring any part of Hong Kong).
     Of course, it would be hard to visit any major city in China and not end up at at least a mall or two. My favorite by far was Coco Park/OCT Harbor. It was amazingly upscale and HUGE! There is so much to see, from the ocean, to the artwork and the architecture, it would be a shame to visit Shenzhen and not at least stop by!

     Here were some other places we visited during our stay:

• Shenzhen 22 Art District
• New Sea World Plaza (there's a giant cruise ship in the middle of this mall!)
• Luohu Commercial City (this place has a lot of cheap food and clothing, but is definitely a little sketchy)
• We went to quite a few parks, but I forgot the names of all of them :(

Seen at the old town!

     For our last day in Shenzhen, however, Melissa and I decided we needed a change of pace; I found an "old town" by the sea outside of Shenzhen that I thought would be fun to explore. So, we took a Didi (the Chinese equivalent to Uber) out there to see what was going on! When we finally arrived after what felt like a ridiculously long car ride, we were quite underwhelmed; the old town was pretty small, and the surrounding areas, including the shops didn't appear to be well kept, a far departure from what we had seen in the city of Shenzhen. Still, we tried to make the most of our last day. It was nice to walk along the coast, feel the sand in between my toes, and people watch. 

Good bye Shenzhen! Until next time.

     As our short vacation came to a close, I felt refreshed, but also like I was missing out; I wish my internship was in Shenzhen! The food, the scenery, the weather, and the culture, among other attractions quickly made Shenzhen my most favorite major city in China. I wish I could have stayed longer, and I will most definitely be back!

     That concludes my post for this week, stay tuned for my next blogpost about hanging around Shanghai!