Over Christmas and New Year the whole workplace is shut for holiday, and since I managed to find some low-cost flights, I decided to go for a short break in Hong Kong for a week and a half. My friend who was hosting me has also organised day trips to Shenzhen (27th December) and Macau (1st January). Let me write about the Shenzhen trip first.
聖誕新年有個多星期假期，趁研究所全體休假和有便宜機票之便，溜到香港玩玩，東道主又安排了深圳一日遊（12月27日）和澳門一日遊（1月1日），現在先寫寫深圳吧。
The nine of us in the group crossed into the mainland through the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint, and we started our Shenzhen tour from the Futian district.
我們一行九人在上水集合後，經落馬州過關，先在福田區逛逛。
The fields around Lok Ma Chau 落馬州一帶的農田
We took Metro Line 4 to Huizhan Zhongxin (Exhibition Centre) to find a place for lunch. I know very well how much Shenzhen has developed over these years, so I was rather shocked as I saw a row of derelict buildings whose demolition works had obviously halted for no apparent reason, as well as a landfill full of unwanted construction material. These eyesores couldn’t have left a worse impression on me after a 12-year absence from the place.
乘地鐵四號線在會展中心站下車，想找個地方吃午飯。心想深圳現在的發展已有一定規模，但從地鐵站出來沒多久，看到的竟是一片頹桓敗瓦，不是拆到中途停頓了的樓房，便是建築廢物堆填地，真不明白背後的由來。已有十二年沒去過深圳，舊地重遊的第一印象不免給這些「爛樓」打了折扣。
Flashy buildings right next to some terribly run-down ones 簇新和殘破相映成趣
After lunch my tour-guiding friend took us to the Bookmall which is reputedly the largest book store in Shenzhen by land area occupied. The amount of stock was indeed pretty impressive, although it was not like an endless world of books as I had imagined. One hour through the book store was enough for me to gather what types of books were on sale and the bestsellers. But the more impressive thing was the sea of customers everywhere in the book store, standing by the shelves or sitting by the banister in the concourse, and all with a book in their hands deep in reading. It seems the general public’s thirst for knowledge is insatiable.
午飯後朋友帶我們往少年宮附近的書城，早就聽說過那家是全深圳佔地最大的書店，裡面書果然多，不過沒我想象中多得看不完，逛了一個鐘頭也大抵看得出有甚麼書種和最暢銷的類別，但最難忘的是書店裡到處都是人，站在書架旁的，沿着大堂欄杆坐着的，人人都手不釋卷，可見一般人對知識的渴求。
The Shenzhen Bookmall 深圳書城
The square outside the Bookmall (left), and the Youth Palace (Shaoniangung) nearby
深圳書城外的廣場（左），及附近的少年宮（右）
Out of the Bookmall, we went to see the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture which was held on a piece of rather nondescript land close by. The exhibition area resembled more like a rugged construction site and there weren’t many pieces on exhibition. Apart from a bamboo hut that was inspired by insect dwellings, there wasn’t anything that particularly caught our eyes.
從書城走出來，大伙兒到附近一片空地看香港深圳建築雙城雙年展，我說是空地，是因為那片地甚像還未平整的工地，也實在沒太多展品可言，難免教人失望，祇有那個仿昆蟲洞穴而建的竹廬還有點看頭。
The architecture exhibition, including the 'insect hut' (left)
港深建築雙年展，包括那個竹廬（左）
The Civic Centre (Shimin Zhongxin) and Civic Square (Shimin Guangchang) weren’t too far from the architecture exhibition site. It wasn’t too difficult to spot the Civic Centre with its enormous wavy roof and the bright red and yellow towers, although some of us thought the design was slightly over the top. The Civic Square was also enormous, but on a grey, drizzly and cold day the Square appeared desolate and too big for its own good with so few people.
雙年展埸地離市民中心和市民廣場不遠。市民中心屋頂的巨型波浪和鮮豔的紅、黃兩座大塔，離遠看已很奪目，雖然也有點誇張。市民廣場實在很敞大，但那天細雨綿綿、寒風絲絲，廣場除了我們一行人也再沒幾個，有點冷清清。
Civic Centre with its distinctive architecture
外表突出的市民中心
The aerial model of Shenzhen (left) and self-serve library (right) inside the Civic Centre
市民中心內的深圳模型（左）和自助圖書館（右）
The Civic Square 市民廣場
I said in a previous blog post that each place in China has its own government publicity campaigns and slogans which reflect to some extent what the local society is like and what problems the local people are facing. Shenzhen doesn’t have too much of this propaganda, apart from the Civic Square Metro station where there was a series of anti-corruption posters. It may not be too surprising after all, since a part of the Civic Centre houses the Shenzhen City Government and the People’s Congress of Shenzhen City.
以前拙文說過，中國國內不同地方都有不同的宣傳標語和口號，大概也可反映當地民情和社會問題，我們在深圳所到的地方都不是有太多這類文宣，倒是市民中心地鐵站有一系列反貪腐的宣傳，無他的，市民中心其中一部分，正是深圳市政府、市人大等辦公室。
Government bureaucrats are invited to take this dish of tofu and vegetables - supposed to mean something plain, simple and clean.
反貪腐廣告：人民請官員吃豆腐青菜
Left: Harmony means efficiency - government obsession with societal harmony is hardly enough
左：又一和諧信息
Right: A recruitment advertisement for the police with the slogan 'Come to us for a safer future' - sounds like an insurance commercial, if you ask me!
右：「走近我們，走進平安」——單看此標語，還以為是保險廣告！
No running away from the news on the Metro - the national news report from the China Central Television is shown between 19:00 and 19:30 like every other TV channel in China
地鐵上也可看到中央電視台的新聞聯播
The drizzle hasn’t stopped towards the evening, and we sought shelter in a café in the Huaqiaocheng cultural village. The elegant décor and relaxing atmosphere provided the perfect ambience for our late tea.
徬晚時雨還未止，我們到僑城東站附近的華僑城創意文化園裡的一家咖啡室避雨取暖兼吃頓茶點，在咖啡室欣賞其清雅的裝潢和感受其悠閑的文化氣氛。
The café in the cultural village
文化園裡的咖啡室
For dinner we headed to the Value Mall, and the restaurant deserves a high recommendation. The Grand Prince – Shenzhen restaurant boasts of a majestic setting and good food. Once inside, we were greeted by an expansive hall with a high ceiling and a big performing stage at one end of the hall where a cinema screen stands. The balcony level along the two other sides of the hall has a series of VIP boxes with full glass walls. This is just the perfect venue for gala events and ceremonies. The backdrop apart, the restaurant also boasts of a good variety of dishes which were all very well prepared. But what impressed us more was the tieguanyin tea which was arguably one of the best we have ever tried. The sweet floral fragrance and the light but scrumptious taste of the tea were worth every cent of what we paid for it!
晚飯到萬象城商場，裡面那家王子國宴飯店很值得向大家推介，甫進去便給大廳的派場懾住，寬敞的廳堂，樓底極高，一邊有個大舞台和大銀幕，兩旁閣樓有一列全落地玻璃的貴賓廂，在那裡辦甚麼盛會可真夠氣派了。菜式選擇多又很有水準，最難得的是席上的鐵觀音茶，氣味馥郁，入口清香，茗茶費再貴也值得！
The entrance and dining hall of the restaurant
飯店的入口和大廳
This restaurant promises to do a good job for your important occasions!
借用張學友歌詞（你的名字，我的姓氏）賣自己的「強項」
The Value Mall shopping centre didn’t feel to foreign to us apart from the use of simplified characters (and apart from the fact that each of us only had to pay 80 yuan for such a decent meal). The designs of the shopping centre weren’t too different to Hong Kong, even to the level that there was an underground walkway connecting the shopping centre directly to the Metro. The Lo Wu checkpoint, through which we returned to Hong Kong, and the surrounding area have also undergone a complete make-over. Shenzhen has indeed changed enormously since I last visited 12 years ago.
從飯店走出來，除了四周都是寫簡體字（和剛才結帳每人祇需80人民幣）外，商場的設計和裝潢跟香港無異，甚至有地下通道直達地鐵（怪不得有朋友說是銅鑼灣時代廣場的格局），在羅湖過關回港時，羅湖城和香港那邊的口岸的佈局跟十二年前已完全不同，深圳在建設方面的進展不容小覷。
聖誕新年有個多星期假期，趁研究所全體休假和有便宜機票之便，溜到香港玩玩，東道主又安排了深圳一日遊（12月27日）和澳門一日遊（1月1日），現在先寫寫深圳吧。
The nine of us in the group crossed into the mainland through the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint, and we started our Shenzhen tour from the Futian district.
我們一行九人在上水集合後，經落馬州過關，先在福田區逛逛。
The fields around Lok Ma Chau 落馬州一帶的農田
We took Metro Line 4 to Huizhan Zhongxin (Exhibition Centre) to find a place for lunch. I know very well how much Shenzhen has developed over these years, so I was rather shocked as I saw a row of derelict buildings whose demolition works had obviously halted for no apparent reason, as well as a landfill full of unwanted construction material. These eyesores couldn’t have left a worse impression on me after a 12-year absence from the place.
乘地鐵四號線在會展中心站下車，想找個地方吃午飯。心想深圳現在的發展已有一定規模，但從地鐵站出來沒多久，看到的竟是一片頹桓敗瓦，不是拆到中途停頓了的樓房，便是建築廢物堆填地，真不明白背後的由來。已有十二年沒去過深圳，舊地重遊的第一印象不免給這些「爛樓」打了折扣。
Flashy buildings right next to some terribly run-down ones 簇新和殘破相映成趣
After lunch my tour-guiding friend took us to the Bookmall which is reputedly the largest book store in Shenzhen by land area occupied. The amount of stock was indeed pretty impressive, although it was not like an endless world of books as I had imagined. One hour through the book store was enough for me to gather what types of books were on sale and the bestsellers. But the more impressive thing was the sea of customers everywhere in the book store, standing by the shelves or sitting by the banister in the concourse, and all with a book in their hands deep in reading. It seems the general public’s thirst for knowledge is insatiable.
午飯後朋友帶我們往少年宮附近的書城，早就聽說過那家是全深圳佔地最大的書店，裡面書果然多，不過沒我想象中多得看不完，逛了一個鐘頭也大抵看得出有甚麼書種和最暢銷的類別，但最難忘的是書店裡到處都是人，站在書架旁的，沿着大堂欄杆坐着的，人人都手不釋卷，可見一般人對知識的渴求。
The Shenzhen Bookmall 深圳書城
The square outside the Bookmall (left), and the Youth Palace (Shaoniangung) nearby
深圳書城外的廣場（左），及附近的少年宮（右）
Out of the Bookmall, we went to see the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture which was held on a piece of rather nondescript land close by. The exhibition area resembled more like a rugged construction site and there weren’t many pieces on exhibition. Apart from a bamboo hut that was inspired by insect dwellings, there wasn’t anything that particularly caught our eyes.
從書城走出來，大伙兒到附近一片空地看香港深圳建築雙城雙年展，我說是空地，是因為那片地甚像還未平整的工地，也實在沒太多展品可言，難免教人失望，祇有那個仿昆蟲洞穴而建的竹廬還有點看頭。
The architecture exhibition, including the 'insect hut' (left)
港深建築雙年展，包括那個竹廬（左）
The Civic Centre (Shimin Zhongxin) and Civic Square (Shimin Guangchang) weren’t too far from the architecture exhibition site. It wasn’t too difficult to spot the Civic Centre with its enormous wavy roof and the bright red and yellow towers, although some of us thought the design was slightly over the top. The Civic Square was also enormous, but on a grey, drizzly and cold day the Square appeared desolate and too big for its own good with so few people.
雙年展埸地離市民中心和市民廣場不遠。市民中心屋頂的巨型波浪和鮮豔的紅、黃兩座大塔，離遠看已很奪目，雖然也有點誇張。市民廣場實在很敞大，但那天細雨綿綿、寒風絲絲，廣場除了我們一行人也再沒幾個，有點冷清清。
Civic Centre with its distinctive architecture
外表突出的市民中心
The aerial model of Shenzhen (left) and self-serve library (right) inside the Civic Centre
市民中心內的深圳模型（左）和自助圖書館（右）
The Civic Square 市民廣場
I said in a previous blog post that each place in China has its own government publicity campaigns and slogans which reflect to some extent what the local society is like and what problems the local people are facing. Shenzhen doesn’t have too much of this propaganda, apart from the Civic Square Metro station where there was a series of anti-corruption posters. It may not be too surprising after all, since a part of the Civic Centre houses the Shenzhen City Government and the People’s Congress of Shenzhen City.
以前拙文說過，中國國內不同地方都有不同的宣傳標語和口號，大概也可反映當地民情和社會問題，我們在深圳所到的地方都不是有太多這類文宣，倒是市民中心地鐵站有一系列反貪腐的宣傳，無他的，市民中心其中一部分，正是深圳市政府、市人大等辦公室。
Government bureaucrats are invited to take this dish of tofu and vegetables - supposed to mean something plain, simple and clean.反貪腐廣告：人民請官員吃豆腐青菜
Left: Harmony means efficiency - government obsession with societal harmony is hardly enough
左：又一和諧信息
Right: A recruitment advertisement for the police with the slogan 'Come to us for a safer future' - sounds like an insurance commercial, if you ask me!
右：「走近我們，走進平安」——單看此標語，還以為是保險廣告！
No running away from the news on the Metro - the national news report from the China Central Television is shown between 19:00 and 19:30 like every other TV channel in China
地鐵上也可看到中央電視台的新聞聯播
The drizzle hasn’t stopped towards the evening, and we sought shelter in a café in the Huaqiaocheng cultural village. The elegant décor and relaxing atmosphere provided the perfect ambience for our late tea.
徬晚時雨還未止，我們到僑城東站附近的華僑城創意文化園裡的一家咖啡室避雨取暖兼吃頓茶點，在咖啡室欣賞其清雅的裝潢和感受其悠閑的文化氣氛。
The café in the cultural village
文化園裡的咖啡室
For dinner we headed to the Value Mall, and the restaurant deserves a high recommendation. The Grand Prince – Shenzhen restaurant boasts of a majestic setting and good food. Once inside, we were greeted by an expansive hall with a high ceiling and a big performing stage at one end of the hall where a cinema screen stands. The balcony level along the two other sides of the hall has a series of VIP boxes with full glass walls. This is just the perfect venue for gala events and ceremonies. The backdrop apart, the restaurant also boasts of a good variety of dishes which were all very well prepared. But what impressed us more was the tieguanyin tea which was arguably one of the best we have ever tried. The sweet floral fragrance and the light but scrumptious taste of the tea were worth every cent of what we paid for it!
晚飯到萬象城商場，裡面那家王子國宴飯店很值得向大家推介，甫進去便給大廳的派場懾住，寬敞的廳堂，樓底極高，一邊有個大舞台和大銀幕，兩旁閣樓有一列全落地玻璃的貴賓廂，在那裡辦甚麼盛會可真夠氣派了。菜式選擇多又很有水準，最難得的是席上的鐵觀音茶，氣味馥郁，入口清香，茗茶費再貴也值得！
The entrance and dining hall of the restaurant
飯店的入口和大廳
This restaurant promises to do a good job for your important occasions!
借用張學友歌詞（你的名字，我的姓氏）賣自己的「強項」
The Value Mall shopping centre didn’t feel to foreign to us apart from the use of simplified characters (and apart from the fact that each of us only had to pay 80 yuan for such a decent meal). The designs of the shopping centre weren’t too different to Hong Kong, even to the level that there was an underground walkway connecting the shopping centre directly to the Metro. The Lo Wu checkpoint, through which we returned to Hong Kong, and the surrounding area have also undergone a complete make-over. Shenzhen has indeed changed enormously since I last visited 12 years ago.從飯店走出來，除了四周都是寫簡體字（和剛才結帳每人祇需80人民幣）外，商場的設計和裝潢跟香港無異，甚至有地下通道直達地鐵（怪不得有朋友說是銅鑼灣時代廣場的格局），在羅湖過關回港時，羅湖城和香港那邊的口岸的佈局跟十二年前已完全不同，深圳在建設方面的進展不容小覷。
Comments
Chinese has yet to learn how to maintain their hardwares properly...
Too bad the weather wasn't that good and we spent too little time in the OCT Loft (www.octre.com/loft/).
And a colleague of mine successfully found the underground exhibition hall for the arch biennale - but the signage was so bad that he only found it 15 mins before closing!
Siu Heng: of course I enjoyed it a lot! Thanks for telling me the English name of the cultural village. Where was the underground exhibition hall? I was expecting to see a lot more for the biennale.
聽說澳洲現在很熱。