Half day Shenzen during weekend.

Ai li

Ai li

Registered User
Hi,

I am thinking of going to Shenzen with a friend one of these weekends without baby.

Probably enter Shenzen in the late morning and leave late afternoon.

We are thinking to window shopping, massage, mani&pedi and EAT!!

However, some friends have advised not to, as CHINA is dangerous, we may expect to get robbed... (we both are female). We both have never been to Shenzen before.

Is it safe?

I am plan to really dress down, like wearing a slipper, school bag, no watch, ....

Please also recommend some nice local places (not very expensive one) if you have been too, like hair salon, massage parlour, restaurent, shopping mall (for kids and adults)....:dance:


thank you very much!
 
Hi

I have only been to the Lo Wu centre in Shenzhen. Not sure where in Shenzhen you are intending to go. I was there on last week with a friend (just the two of us girls) and it was fine. You have to be sensible with your valuables - keep passport somewhere very safe. I would not take a backpack/school bag as it is easier to pickpocket. I take a small bag that I can keep close to me with my passport in a zip pocket inside the bag. I only shop in the mall (primarily for tailoring) and would never go off to the "factory" or "warehouse" to look at anything outside of the mall.

You should be fine but be careful. I never wear any jewellry.

Mani/pedi's are cheap at Lo Wu - around $30 each. Better to have RMB rather than HK$ unless you want to agree a price then have to convert the RMB price to HK$.

SB2
 
HI SB2,

Thanks for the advice. Will certainly pay much attention on passport.

OMG, RMB30 for Mani/Pedi each?? It is almost 7 or 8 times cheaper than Hong kong.

Many many thanks. I cant wait till this weekend now...:dance:
 
Yep - it is cheap but the places in a mall are certainly not like Sense of Touch!! So you should expect that they are not luxurious. However - you might be able to get a nicer place outside of the mall for a little bit more expensive.
 
A girlfriend and I went last weekend. My rules:
* Stay in the mall unless you HAVE to go elsewhere (ie, da fang or.. well that is all I have been other than the adventure playgrounds a few years back). Unless you have DH with you.
* Go with a shopping list - otherwise you will buy crap. become a deer in headlights from all the hounding and not enjoy yourself.
* Don't try and do it for one or two hours - give yourself the day. Take it easy and stop for a long lunch.

Have fun!
 
I was at Lo Wu a couple of weeks ago (my 4th time this year) and I think you'll be needing about 5 - 6 hours there! We usually arrive at 10:30am from HK and leave at 6/7pm. I would not advise getting mani/pedis in Lo Wu - they do not look very clean and I would question them sanitizing their tools. I would recommend doing the spas that have shuttles to take you to their building which is usually deeper into Lo Wu. I have heard good things about them.

Overall Advice:
- Use RMB
- Do not wear jewelry
- Wear a purse that wraps around you (i.e. not a shoulder bag)
- Keep you valuables safe within your bag
- Do not use a flashy wallet - I always change my wallets
- Bring a bottle of water and snacks
- If you plan on buying a lot, then bring a small roller suitcase
- If you plan on getting clothing for your baby - outline their foot so you can get appropriate sizes, bring a top/pants as a size reference
- bargain hard! :) I've started with children's pants starting at $150 RMB and got it down to to $30 RMB
- A golden rule in Shenzhen: you have to be able to walk away from anything you find.

Have fun!

We never eat there, but just snack the entire day. The best stuff is using the tailor there I think - real bang for your buck!
 
I lived in SZ (Luohu) for a year and a few months there when baby was born. DON`T WORRY. I would only warn that being a weekend the place will be mad with people, kind of like HK though.
The main shopping areas there are Dongmen, which is geared more towards younger people and it`s too crowded for my liking but has cheap stuff, and also cheap salons. Lots of HK people go there for cheap esthe treatments. Best to take a taxi there from the border, but it`s at Lao Jie station.
At Guo Mao station is King Glory Plaza, a nice shopping mall.
If you want an upscale mall, there is Mix C, connected to Da Ju Yuan, but it`s all designer shops, though there are great restaurants there, one excellent japanese one is called Kamado - my husband and I went alllll the time. He`s Japanese and it was one of his favourite J-places(the head chef is actually japanese).
Another upscale shopping mall which actually has a nursing room is at the last subway stop - Window of the World. It`s the city`s newest shopping mall.
There is a good local market in Hua Qiang Bei (subway stop), which is the electronics town. It`s a `foreign clothing market` and I bought all my son`s clothing there for the first 5 months. It`s really cheap, more than Stanley.

I agree with oze-kid not to do it in a half day. Too hard and stressful doing that in a place where you don`t know. PLus, SZ has got some great restaurants if you can find them, allll kinds of Chinese cuisine, foreign cuisine, at a fraction of HK`s cost.
Check out Shenzhen and Shekou Party: Apartment Rentals, Bars, Restaurants, Real estate, Jobs, Events, Hotels in Guangdong, China to get a better idea of what is going on there.
Although I really hated living there, I sometimes feel the need to stand up for it... I think people get a bit hysterical when they talk about going to SZ.
I wouldn`t leave my zippers open here in HK either. Nor would I trust blindly that everyone around me is a saint. Yes, sure you take care of your passport, don`t you do that everywhere?
Just exercise caution. But I don`t think you need to dress like a poor person. Anyway, if you`re HK people, it seems like everyone will know it anyway.
I`m actually planning to go there next month with my husband and baby. I can`t wait to go to Kamado to eat some yummy food and then buy lots of cheap stuff! Oh, did I mention that DVDs are about 8-10rmb in Dongmen? Yeah, it`s not so bad. And there are a few bargains at the 2yuan shops too.
I spent my entire pregnancy there, and though I could say a lot of other things, about that most people treated me like gold.
 
By the way, I think most people here are talking about the annoying Louhu Commercial Centre at the border. Rarely do people go into SZ. That place is full of annoying people trying to rip you off. `Hey Missy missy, wanna buy a watch?` and they touch you too. I have lost my temper there more than a couple of times. Try venturing out.
Also the 15rmb pedicures suck. they pretty much just clip your toenails, file them and polish, all in about 10 minutes. Go for a real spa if you want. They are awesome and cheap.
For kids stuff, it`s the same factory brands as they have in HK - I think you`ll understand the sizes.
 
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Thank you sooooo much for the great advices!!!

seems like I do not need any assistance from Lonely Planet anymore.

Will certainly try many places that Shenzhennifer mentioned. May have to do it on different days.

I am sure the trip is gonna to be a blast!!

:dance:
 
I think Luohu is kind of fun and mangeable for a first outing there since it's right in front of the MTR. Everyone speaks English and I've gotten tons of clothing made there. Yes the people in the shops are aggressive, but I never feel threatened there. Just walk away and don't look back. It's their job to do that - to get the business. I personally never buy the fake handbags nor do I buy the toys from China that they sell there. I've bought children's clothing and done tailoring there.

Dongmen does have great DVDs but I have found that going further into Shenzhen is a bit daunting and I only travel around with my girlfriends who can speak Mandarin when I do go. We take the MTR or just a cab. We've been to some great party supply / children's malls too.

Shenzhen itself is huge so 1 day would definitely not cover exploring it. There's also the artist village - Dauphin for paintings and art supplies that I've heard great things about.
 
Absolutely!

I get all my pants, shorts, dresses done with #21 (in the fabric market) and then all my shirts (i.e. linen shirts I get here b/c it's so hot and great for traveling!) I get with tailor #5099 - she's located outside the fabric market - same floor.

Lots of AMericans go to #21 and the tailor's assistants all speak pretty good english. I find that their best work is when I give them an actual item and they just copy it. Remember to tell them all the details of the new garment you want made - right up to the buttons. The more explicit the better. #21 has done a great job on pants, my husband's work pants, shorts and dresses.

Once you start going and begin to build a relationship with the assistants/tailors, they will even lessen the prices for you. We've gotten some amazing deals!
 
Hi southside

I go to a different tailor but have been finding that the things (especially dresses) are getting more and more expensive. Out of interest, how much does #21 charge for pants, shorts and dresses? Do you buy the fabric separately so that you only pay the tailor for the talioring or do they give you an inclusive price?

I buy the fabric separately in the fabric market and then only pay my tailor for the tailoring. I bargain hard for the fabric but don't really bargain with my tailor (maybe that is the problem!).

Thanks
SB2
 
the fabric is usually what you bargain for as most tailors just have a fixed cost. Yes, I also pay for fabric separately, but use the vendors my tailors go to as I do get the best prices there and the assistants can help bargain for me too. I keep returning so many now know me and give me a fair price.

Tailoring (does not include fabric and the more detailed, the more expensive it gets)
- shorts: @ $40-50 RMB depending on length, detailing etc..
- Basic women's pants: @ $50 RMB
- Men's trousers for work: @ $170 RMB
- dress: under $100

You should absolutely bargain hard for the material and do it before they cut it!

And let's be honest - it's all basically a great deal there even if you don't bargain. It's just a matter of how good of a deal you can get!
 
Thanks southside. That looks a bit cheaper than mine on the tailoring. I take my tailor with me to the fabric market so she can tell me how much I need when the fabric widths differ so much. She always says I get a good price on the fabric but who knows!! I never bargain with the tailor as she is very fixed in her prices. RMB 70 is about the cheapest I get for tailoring cost on shirts, skirts, trousers etc. Good to cross check.
 
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