It was around 11:17 PM when my cousin hit me with a random question: "What do you think of Shenzhen tomorrow morning?"
He asked if I had the mainland travel card. I told him no, but my passport gets me a visa-on-arrival for a month, so we decided to just go for it. His local friend joined us, and by the morning, we were on our way. This was my second time visiting Shenzhen, but my first time taking the bus across the border instead of the MTR train. The drive was smooth and surprisingly quick, as Hong Kong and Shenzhen really are right next door.
The Border Drama
When we arrived at the border checkpoint, things got interesting. My cousin had his Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (though he brought his passport just in case), and his friend glided straight through since he visits all the time. I was in a different lane using my passport.
The border officer asked if I spoke Mandarin, and I told him no. He took his time flipping through my passport, carefully checking every single visa stamp. Then he looked up and asked: "Do you have a Chinese name?"
"No," I replied, a bit taken aback.
He asked me to wait and handed my passport to a female officer, who walked off into an office with it. Standing there for those two or three minutes felt long. From what I understand, China doesn't allow dual citizenship, and since my passport lists my birthplace as Hong Kong without a Chinese name attached, they probably wanted to verify my identity and check if I held another local status.
Her check took only a few minutes, though. She walked back, handed my passport over, and said everything was fine.
Exploring Shenzhen
Once we made it through, our first stop was a street packed with dental clinics and spas. After checking out that area, we headed toward an electronics market near the Modern Window Commercial Plaza, a cool village-style outdoor mall area.
By lunchtime, we made our way around Longsheng for some hot pot. The restaurant actually displayed the exact time the fresh beef was delivered to the kitchen, which was a nice touch.
After lunch, we took the train from Huaqiang North over to the OCT Design Center. We spent some time walking around the grounds, snapping photos, and grabbing coffee.
As the day wrapped up, our local friend stayed behind in Shenzhen to go indoor skiing, while my cousin and I prepped to head back to Hong Kong.
A Few Observations & Real-World Tips
Overall, Shenzhen feels much more spacious and laid-back compared to the fast pace of Hong Kong.
- The Local Vibe: One of our ride drivers was super friendly. He talked about how rapidly China has developed over the years and shared some fascinating views on life, like how merit matters more than background here compared to systems where your family name dictates your path. He even chatted about how beautiful the Himalayas are.
- Affordability: Food, drinks, trains, and taxis are noticeably cheaper than in Hong Kong, and the service everywhere was spot on.
- The Payment System (Important!): While cash exists, almost everything runs on digital payments. I had an active eSIM, so my data connected as soon as I crossed the border, which helped a lot. However, using payment apps can be tricky. My AlipayHK worked in a few retail shops displaying the Alipay+ logo, but it failed at the train station. Next time, I'll definitely set up the main mainland Alipay app in advance by linking a foreign credit card and completing identity verification to avoid the hassle.
Heading Home
Crossing back into Hong Kong was completely smooth, though the mainland exit officer asked me the exact same question in Mandarin: "Do you have a Chinese name?"
It turns out this isn't a common question for everyone, as my cousin didn't get asked at all. But looking at my name, it makes sense. My surname, Limbu, shares root ties to the mainland family name Lin (or Lam in Cantonese, and Lim in places like Singapore and Malaysia). My first name, Subash, starts with Su, which is also a common Chinese surname. Combine that with a Hong Kong birthplace on the passport, and it naturally raises curiosity at immigration! I actually had an informal Chinese name back in kindergarten, but since it's not on my official documents, keeping it simple with "no" was the right move.
Shenzhen is massive, and I've barely scratched the surface. One of my elder relatives from my mother's clan, who has hiked almost every trail in Hong Kong, now goes to Shenzhen just for the mountain trails. After seven or eight years away, it was great to be back. I'll definitely be crossing the border again soon to explore more.
Shall explore!
Watch the vlog on YouTube