Summary
- The Eye of Shenzhen was great, but they also have a bunch of beautiful stations on Line 16.
- Akihabara is no longer the place for electronic parts, but Huaqiang Electronic World offers an impressive collection of them.
- Ping'an Financial Center has the world's highest observation deck, yet it is extremely less known than the Shanghai Tower, and we can dominate the impressive night view of Shenzhen.
- Not only the metro, but the architecture in Shenzhen is always way beyond our expectations. We can enjoy an arena that looks like it is covered with a giant web, and there is also a shopping mall with a jade-like smooth surface.
Highlights
Shenzhen Metro
布吉(地铁站)
- Interchange station with Line 5 and Line 14 (and more). Line 14 motifs are hexagons and triangular leaves. Even the chairs are decorated with triangular cuts.
黄木岗 (地铁站)
- Interchange station with Line 7 and Line 14.
- One of the most open-space metro stations, which features a gigantic area above the platform. It's not uncommon to have a large concourse, but the idea of extending this space to the platform, similar to a shopping mall, is an amazing concept. Not only is it physically spacious, but the tilted pillars and complexly intertwined escalators also make the space look much larger.
ALL ONLINE 16 BELOW.
大运(地铁站)
- Interchange station with Line 14 and Line 16 (and more). Since this is the hub station in this area, there is a dynamic motif that navigates us to different platforms. I like the smooth connection of the lines like living organisms.
大运中心(地铁站)
- The golden crystal on the rooftop looks like a space creature is about to invade the station. This architecture is designed without using a single column, which is commonly seen in new stations.
黄阁坑(地铁站)
- Cute blue and white dots cover the entire rooftop. Unlike the triangular design of other stations, this station gives us a relatively relaxing atmosphere. I hope to see more relaxing stations that use wood and warm-colored paintings.
双龙站 (深圳市)
- It just looks like any other ordinary station from the platform, but we can see a dynamic walkway design on the ground level.
坪山围(地铁站)
- The futuristic motif of Line 16 and probably the lotus motif from Line 14 are beautifully combined at the triangular pathway.
技术大学(地铁站)
- This is the second last station of Line 16. It’s known for its giant arch with cool straight lights.
Bay Sports Center & Baoan Binhai Cultural Park
- Baoan Binhai Cultural Park is a park with a brilliant architecture. Especially, the complexly curved pathway of the the commercial area looks like an octopus from the sky.
- Shenzhen Bay Sports Center Stadium is located right next to the Shenzhen Talent Park, and the giant tree-like object directly connected to the roof can be seen in the middle of the stadium. We omitted the talent park photo as I couldn’t find anything particularly interesting.
Huaqiang Electronic World
- This place might be the world's largest market for electronic parts. Not only do they sell unique computer parts, but they also have electronic components such as ICs and resistors, which have almost disappeared from Akihabara. I think they are targeted more toward buyers from companies rather than normal consumers.
- The collection of LED display devices is comprehensive, making this place even more entertaining for non-tech lovers.
- Unlike Japanese electronic shops, which tend to be small, this space takes up about 5 floors of the entire shopping mall, and the scale is incomparable.
Ping'an International Financial Center
- The height of the observation deck is the same as the Shanghai Tower, but I could only see less than one-fifth of it.
- We can enjoy high-quality video introductions along the way, and it is interesting to see the video about the city's development as the elevator goes up.
- The observation area was a calm and comfortable space, motivated by clouds and stars.
- The glass of the top floor protrudes and offers a wider view of the city, and we can look down at the city from the glass floor.
- The glass itself is clean, but the air tends to be smoky or misty.
Shopping Centers
- The two pictures below are from the Yifang Center. The other one is also great, but this one has a smooth surface and a beautiful glass ceiling like a jewel.
Other Interesting Places
- The buildings in Shenzhen are all unique and new.
- Skyscrapers tend to have rounded edges, and there is beautiful decoration using columns and adjustments of blocks.
High-Speed Railway
- Using the subway might be the cheapest and easiest option, as the high-speed railway requires reservations and tends to be pricey.
Foods
- The distance is small, but we still have to pass through immigration, which can be troublesome if we purchase meat products.
- Since I was still feeling unwell, I didn’t eat many things.
- The sushi from Family Mart looked completely different as it is made without using fresh fish.
Opinions
- I liked the artistic design of the Shenzhen metro, and I hope Japan will also adopt such designs. However, it might be difficult to maintain if it becomes heavily used or if the space is too small to accommodate them. These brilliant designs can also be incorporated into interior design.
- I loved the neon signs created by LED tape, and I hope to create something similar in the future. In general, Chinese people have a really good understanding of the use of indirect light, and I want to learn from cozy restaurant and hotel space designs.
- Electronic World was like a specialized department store, and it was a unique and good idea. The giant electronics stores tend to dominate the market in Japan, but I hope there will be places that are home to multiple different shops.
- I usually carefully check reviews when buying something, but I someday hope to purchase on a whim. I want to enjoy coincidental travel someday.
- Shenzhen and Shanghai have similar populations, but there is a huge scale difference between them, probably because the Shanghai metropolitan area is much larger. Tokyo is the world's largest metropolitan area, so I hope to see massive projects comparable to Shanghai.
