I had heard of “the beach” in Shenzhen for the longest time.  Actually, there are several different ones on the east side of the city.  They are popular spots apparently; seems like I hear them mentioned frequently.  Well, suddenly I know two people who have bought apartments in the area.  Finally, I accepted an invitation to come check it out.  After all, I too will be looking for a new apartment when I return from my upcoming summer trip to the US.

I really liked the place though I wasn’t there very long.  This past weekend was one of my busiest yet; I traveled to different parts of the city (by bus) for various project appointments, so I could only spare an afternoon.  I asked my friend, Mike, to have some bikes ready so we could take an accelerated tour of the area.

By bus, it’s quite far from downtown Shenzhen, perhaps 45 minutes or so, but the prices of apartments are much cheaper and there is obviously a lot of investment going into the place now.  So, I found myself starting to seriously consider it.  If I can have all the basic amenities nearby then I’ll be set.  It’s big enough to support a large population and there is a decent amount of Western influence, which is always calming if one needs it.

After the bike ride, we went to another friends apartment in the area and enjoyed an excellent dinner, Hunan style, along singing in his own karaoke bar.

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