In Shenzhen

Hi jianshuo,Guangzhou is meeting its construction schedule which causes temporary inconvenience.Hope you will enjoy your trip to GZ.

Re: Donglei's comment. Are you taking the train from Shenzhen? Because construction has turned Guangzhou East Rail Station into a hellhole. The taxi queue is really far away (turn left out of the station and walk several blocks) and there aren't many good signs. Plus, the queue is enormous. The authorities are so dead-set on building lots of stuff for a sporting event that they have become totally inconsiderate for anyone travelling with elderly parents, lots of luggage, a wheelchair, etc. Heck, it's even bad just with rain.

I skipped it entirely. I walked out, turning right out the station, and was lucky enough to catch a cab off the street.

Or maybe you can ask your hotel to arrange a car to pick you up.

From Shenzhen, if you look out at the hills of the New Territories, Hong Kong, on the other side of the river, you can see the small path where I ride my horse! :)

I don't like Shenzhen either. Sure, it has lots of new fancy towers, hotels, restaurants and malls. But the upscale stuff is mostly empty. I went to MixC, and felt like the only shopper there -- all these salesgirls with too much makeup, standing around looking bored. It's like developers just wanted "face," without realizing that 99% of the population don't want to spend 2,000 RMB on a shirt, or 300 RMB on a mediocre upscale Western lunch.

Since Shenzhen was just built up in a generation or so (from fishing village to SEZ in 30 years), it doesn't feel like a real city to me. There is no sense of history, local culture, roots, etc. It tries to look like HK, but it doesn't have that natural buzz and bustle of a city. I find it a bit boring, too.

I like Guangzhou more -- despite the construction. There is a real sense of Cantonese language, food and culture, which makes it unique. I hope you eat well while you're there!