Hotels in Shenzhen

Shenzhen is China's great modern experiment: a cluster of fishing villages chosen in 1980 as the country's first Special Economic Zone, now a city of more than ten million and the engine room of Chinese tech. Tencent, Huawei and DJI are headquartered here, and the Huaqiangbei electronics markets remain a pilgrimage for anyone who builds, fixes or just loves gadgets. The city is clean, efficient and well served by an extensive metro, with green spaces such as Lianhuashan Park and the coastal walks around Shenzhen Bay offering relief from the towers.

This is not a place for ancient history, and much of it is sprawling, humid and built for business rather than strolling, so many visitors use it as a cheaper base or a stopover next to Hong Kong, whose Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin is an easy cross-border trip. Stay in Futian, where the business district, good metro links and the Futian and Huanggang border crossings make both work and Hong Kong day trips straightforward.