The OCT Monorail

This article was originally published on July 2, 2010, in the Shenzhen Daily.
The information was accurate at that time, and may be outdated now. Use with caution.

Looking down on a "Folk Cultural Village" from the OCT Monorail

Everyone knows the "Big Three" theme park's in Shenzhen's Overseas Chinese Town (OCT). But have you ever noticed the thread that strings all of these pearls together? It's the 4.38km Swiss-made "Happy Line," the OCT monorail.

China Merchant Group Historical Museum

This article was originally published on June 24, 2011, in the Shenzhen Daily.
The information was accurate at that time, and may be outdated now. Use with caution.

Sign on the guard house in front of the Museum

The Shenzhen Daily recently ran a "List of revolutionary tourist attractions" on the travel page, calling my attention to several sites I hadn't seen.

So last weekend we visited the China Merchant Group Historical Museum at 21 Yanshan Road, Shekou, just a 10-minute walk from Sea World. Bus 226 stops at Shekou Keji Dasha (蛇口科技大厦), then walk up Gongye 4th Road.

Shekou Sea World

This article was originally published on January 21, 2011, in the Shenzhen Daily.
The information was accurate at that time, and may be outdated now. Use with caution.

Deng Xiaoping's calligraphy on the Ming Hua at Shekou Sea World

With the completion of Metro Line 3 from Windows of the World to Chiwan, there's no excuse not to visit the rapidly-changing Shekou area. You no longer need to spend precious time on a bus or precious money on a taxi. Shoppers, diners, and revelers can now travel from the city center to Shekou Sea World without ever leaving the underground.

Universiade Venues on the Metro

This article was originally published on July 25, 2011, in the Shenzhen Daily.
The information was accurate at that time, and may be outdated now. Use with caution.

Click to see the larger map on its original page

On a recent research trip, I ran across a large map of the Metro system which, although not a complete list of Universiade venues, did highlight those venues which can be accessed from various Metro stations. Here they are, line-by-line, in more-or-less west to east or south-to-north order.

Universiade Village

This article was originally published on July 8, 2011, in the Shenzhen Daily.
The information was accurate at that time, and may be outdated now. Use with caution.

Universiade Stadium

This week I continued to "ride the rails," out to Universiade Village in Longgang.

Shenzhen Airport

This article was originally published on July 1, 2011, in the Shenzhen Daily.
The information was accurate at that time, and may be outdated now. Use with caution.

NOTE: This article is now, essentially, history. In November of 2013, a new terminal was opened. Passengers arriving by Metro are now required (I'm told) to take a shuttle bus to reach the new terminal. If one rides to Airport East, the shuttle takes about 25-30 minutes; savvy travelers will take the shuttle from Hourai Station, an 8-10 minute ride. Ah, progress.

Pedestrian bridge from the Metro station to the airport terminals

On June 22, once-remote Xili (where I live) became one of the communities served by Metro Line 5, the Huanzhong Line. In honor of this lifestyle-changing event, over the next several weeks I will explore the system and some of its more interesting destinations.

First: Shenzhen Airport, via Lines 5 and 1.

The Shekou Metro Line

This article was originally published on February 25, 2011, in the Shenzhen Daily.
The information was accurate at that time, and may be outdated now. Use with caution.

An artistic portrayal of the entire line [at the time, just to Windows of the World]

I recently rode the Shekou Metro Line (Line 2), which is one of Shenzhen's newest. [At that time, it ran only from Chiwan to Windows of the World; it has now been extended north and east, well into Luohu.]