Reflections on 10 Months in Shenzhen

Tonight I will be returning to the UK for a short break from China but fear not I’ll be retuning in two weeks time. My flight goes from Hong Kong via Amsterdam meaning it’ll be a rather long journey (17 hours) which I never look forward to but hopefully should lessen the jet lag as I basically fly through the night of 8 time zones.

It’s been 10 months since I moved to Shenzhen and so far it’s been a great experience. Although I have developed somewhat of a love-hate relationship with the country it continues to fascinate me and I’ve managed to see and learn a lot more since my previous shorter trips as well as met some interesting people. Shenzhen might not be the cultural hub of China but I certainly appreciate its relative cleanliness and convenience as a gateway to the rest of China.

I’ve managed to pack in a lot of short trips into the time, visiting Guangzhou, Yangshuo, Hong Kong (5 times), Xi’an, Shanghai, Beijing (again), Xiamen and many more smaller places besides but there’s still a lot more to explore. Next on my hit list would be central/western China and in particular Tibet would be dream destination if I can find the time to do it justice.

I intend to spend my time in the UK catching up with friends and family, working on on a few work-related projects and generally enjoying some non-Chinese food for a change! Here’s hoping I don’t catch H1N1 on the way

In case you wondered the pictures here are from the He Xiangning Art Gallery and OCT Art & Design Gallery which are both located in the Overseas Chinese Town. Neither had particularly interesting exhibitions on and for the entrance fee (20 RMB each) it felt like a bit of a con. Still, if you fancy seeing some strung up shopping trollies this might be for you.

Other possibly related posts you might enjoy:

1. Shenzhen Land Reclamation
2. Relocating to Shenzhen
3. PechaKucha Night Shenzhen
4. Reflections
5. Shenzhen: Before and After