I'm not a fan of China. But I'll keep my prejudices to myself. It's a personal thing.
Like I said, it is a train ride away. You can train from Hung Hom, like us, and get off at Lo Wu. The train system from Hong Kong is modern, simple and efficient. No fuss. Too easy. And whoosh, within, I forget, an hour? You are, technically, in a different country.
There are two different cultures to be understood here. Hong Kong-Chinese are exceptionally different from China-Chinese. They are two separate cultures and two separate cities with two separates of everything. The food, the currency, the market price, the hygiene - it's like being in a different world. What am I saying? It is a different world. Chinese they may be, but it's very similar to having two different sorts of frogs in neighbouring ponds.
Once you arrive in Shen Zhen, you'll know what I mean. Keep your papers in order, your official photos up-to-date (someone in my group got into trouble for looking 'drastically' different from weight loss) and your bags close to you. Don't make unnecessary eye contact. Be polite and you'll be alright.
Good points in Shen Zhen definitely lies in the shopping. If you're mad about retail therapy, this is definitely your sort of pond. It's dirt cheap. Bargain hard enough and you can bring home a new luggage with a whole new wardrobe. Shoes. Skirts. Tops. Coats. Hats. It's amazing. Be warned that there are fake notes circulating in the city. There are subtle differences to the notes so be wary when you receive change to your purchases.
The one place I am anxious to write about is Splendid China. [Note: Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to go to Window of the World and so I advise that you allocate time to tear yourself away from shopping (hard, yes, I know) and wander to the Window of the World. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.]
It is a fascinating, fascinating place. It's pretty big (30 hectares) and is divided into three sections. My favourite would be the miniaturized tourist attractions in China which has been painstakingly recreated and reduced to a scale of 1: 15 and the effort is just awesome. There are shows during the duration of the day and if you're interested to meet Genghis Khan, you have the opportunity to so in the afternoon. Its Chinese Cultural Show is also something worth boasting about and the spectacular performance will keep you at the edge of your sit. It's almost always a full house so make sure your tour guide (or yourself) book it early. It's quite spellbinding.
Splendid China has made me realized something. This part of the world, everything is about size. If you were to make something small, make it very, very small. If you were to make it big, make it gigantically huge. If you wanted to say something, say it to the point of being excruciatingly loud, or else, be silent. To be mediocre and average in China, in my opinion, is uncommon. It might be something to do with the massive population of the country and perhaps, in order to get somewhere, you have to draw some sort of attention to yourself. It's very yin and yang, there is certainly no gray area.
China is, no doubt, spectacular. However sometimes, it gives me a spectacular headache for being too loud.
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