Shenzhen, China - soon to be the largest city on the planet

It's been over a month since my last post, but here I am again to post an update and give you some insight on what's happening on this side of the planet. I've been here a few weeks now and will be here for at least a couple more months. It's been pretty much the same thing day after day, as would be expected with any kind of work assignment. Not a whole lot worth blogging happens from day to day, I spend between 9 and 10 hours a day in an office/lab 6 days a week. I also happen to be in a part of town where not much happens, and I would have felt bad blogging the minutiae of the day to day activities of a Pharmaceutical Engineer.

This is, after all, an adventure travel blog, so on the Sundays that I have off, I head out the door in search of adventure in Shenzhen worthy of blogging.

So, Shenzhen. Not a lot of adventure. Not that I've found, anyway.

There are some interesting places, however, that cause a slight needle deflection on the Adventure Meter and at least deserve a mention. I gots nothin' else.

Shenzhen point of interest 1: Huaqiangbei (华强北)

Huaqiangbei (Hwa ching bee) is a huge market area of Shenzhen that caters to electronics enthusiasts of all kinds. The photo shows just one floor of one building of one block of this electronics megacenter. You can find anything from discrete electronic components and test equipment to computers, cameras, and vacuum tube stereo equipment. I scored a totally cool radio frequency generator. But that's too geeky to even mention in an adventure blog. Huaqiangbei also happens to have one of the 2 Burger King restaurants in Shenzhen. Considering that there are over 9 million people in Shenzhen, the rarity of this restaurant and the fact it is empty most of the time are interesting facts in themselves. It's one of the reasons I take the 40 minute cab ride to Huaqiangbai. Flame broiled goodness.
Most adventurous aspect: dodging the large flatbed carts that deliver pallets of electronic goods to the vendors. Adventure meter rating: 0.1

Shenzhen point of interest 2: Cavernous shopping malls many stories high

There are so many malls like this in Shenzhen, all of them have the same stores that they all start to look the same. Think of a typical American indoor mall and then turn it on one end. Shenzhen is such a crowded city that in some parts the real estate is so expensive the only way to go is up. Most adventurous aspect: The vertigo from looking over a rail from 7 or 8 stories up. Adventure meter rating: 0.0 This rating would go up significantly if they allowed bungee jumping into the central atrium.

Shenzhen point of interest 3: the 9th tallest building in the world, Kingkey 100.

The yet to be completed Kingkey 100 (I'm not making that up) will be over 442 meters (1449 feet) tall when it is finally finished later this year, making it the 9th tallest building in the world. Out of those 98 floors, 68 floors will contain office spaces, 22 stories will be a six-star business hotel and the top four floors of the skyscraper will hold a garden and several restaurants. Too bad it isn't finished now. Most adventurous aspect: The vertigo from looking 98 stories up. Adventure meter rating: 0.0 Just like the cavernous shopping malls many stories high, this rating would go up significantly if they allowed bungee jumping.

I'm sure there are some very cool places in Shenzhen that would be more worthy of this blog, I just haven't had the chance to go out and find them yet. Having only one day a week off and being 40 minutes away from the city center make looking for fascinating things to see and do sort of tough. But I will be taking some time off after my assignment and I'll spend the time to find the more interesting, cool , and hopefully, adventurous.