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| Some Shenzhen highlights: |
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Modern, ultra-successful city |
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China's best educational system |
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Close to Hong Kong |
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Warm climate & beaches |
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The 2002-2003 group on their way in to the Wuzhou Hotel, where the Shenzhen mayor hosted an official welcoming banquet, with the American Consul General from Guangzhou. This is one of the nine 5-star hotels in Shenzhen. |
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| Shenzhen a portrait of beauty and success | Shenzhen is the first (1978) and by far the most successful of the Special Economic Zones in China. People from all over China compete for the chance to work in Shenzhen. It has a boom economy, and the average age of its citizens is just 28.
Shenzhen began as a string of fishing villages and a beach, but in the last two decades has developed very rapidly into an ultramodern, bustling city of 5 million. The fishing village atmosphere is long gone, and Shenzhen is establishing itself as the financial, commercial, and high-tech “Singapore” of China. Even through Shenzhen represents China’s twenty-first century future, bits of traditional China can be found easily: street-stall restaurants, street vendors on the pedestrian overpasses, farmers on the roadsides selling fruits and vegetables.
You can get everywhere in Shenzhen by public transportation. The On-Site Coordinator and your Contact Teacher will help you with the bus routes. Nearly all the buses are air-conditioned and quite comfortable. You will also want to learn to use the small minibuses that parallel the most popular bus routes. Learning the bus routes will take a little effort, but once you’ve done that you can go anywhere in the city. An extensive subway system opened in December 2004.
It's an easy trip from Shenzhen to Hong Kong (34 minutes by commuter train from downtown Shenzhen to central Hong Kong). Hong Kong provides a bi-lingual culture break whenever you want it. Hong Kong is also very convenient as a starting point for vacation travel.
Shenzhen's climate resembles that of Miami, Florida, with very mild winters and a tropical summer.
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