From the nature of Guilin to the most tech-driven city on earth. Shenzhen is probably the city where we'd move as a family: a DJI flagship store you feel you're inside, the world's biggest electronics market, a tower with a view, and a drone delivery that (almost) arrived.
Wrong hotel, right city
Our van driver from the rice terraces took us to Guilin's small but very modern station, and a few hours later we were in Shenzhen. We went to our hotel in Futian, only to be told at the desk: "This is not your hotel." A second hotel with exactly the same name, 2 km away, was ours. One more Didi, and it was already 2 p.m.
iFly and the DJI flagship store
The kids had wanted to try an indoor wind tunnel for years, and in Shenzhen we finally booked iFly. They had the time of their lives. Walking around OCT Harbour, more than a million square metres on the edge of Shenzhen Bay, I found something that wasn't even in my plan: a brand-new DJI flagship store, where it really feels like being inside a drone. Every time I'm in China I picture my life here with the kids. I just need to find a job.
Huaqiangbei: the Silicon Valley of hardware
Locals say: "If Huaqiangbei sneezes, the whole country's electronics market catches a cold." If it has a chip inside, you'll find it here, and probably cheaper than anywhere else. One tip: at 9 a.m. everything is still closed, so they take it easy. I left my family and went on a mission. I got a friend's old Apple Watch SE repaired with a new display for about 400 RMB (around €50), traded my Apple Watch Series 10 for an Ultra 3 at a very good price, and found a neck mount for my DJI action cameras. We planned two hours and stayed until 3:30 p.m. I felt like a kid at Christmas. I also noticed how electric scooters are charged on the street: scan a QR code, plug in, and pay when you come back.
Ping An Finance Center
From our hotel we could see the Ping An Finance Center, in the heart of Futian, so we went up to the observation deck on the 116th floor, called "Free Sky". Despite the name, it's definitely not free. Watching the sunset from up there, I realised that my love for this country is helping me overcome all my fears of heights.
Sea World, Splendid China and the drone delivery
In the evening we went to Sea World in Shekou, built around the Minghua, a real cruise ship moored there since 1983, and found a great Italian restaurant. The next morning we visited Splendid China, China's very first theme park (1989). Its founder visited Madurodam in the Netherlands and decided China needed its own miniature park. It's a cute way to see all of China in miniature with kids.
Last stop: Shenzhen Talent Park, where delivery drones fly over the lake. With my Chinese phone number I managed to order (the Italian number gave an error)... and then the order was cancelled because of a problem with the KFC drone. Some other people had just received theirs. At least we saw the deliveries with our own eyes. Shenzhen is the perfect example of what good city planning can achieve in 20 years, and it keeps changing at a speed you won't see anywhere else.