Whittle School & Studios - Shenzhen Attractions

Welcome to

Whittle School & Studios Shenzhen Campus!

This pamphlet has been prepared for you in order to introduce you to the city of Shenzhen and prepare you for what you can expect from life in the Pearl Delta Region.

WHERE IS SHENZHEN?

HONG KONG

Shenzhen is located within the Pearl River Delta, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Huizhou to the north and northeast, Dongguan to the north and northwest. Lingdingyang and Pearl River to the west and Mirs Bay to the east and roughly 100

kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the provincial capital of Guangzhou. The city is elongated measuring 81.4 k from east to west while the shortest section from north to south is 10.8 km. Major destinations within Asia are within a one to three hour flight range: Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, etc. With an average temperature of 22 C (72 F), Shenzhen has a long mild summer and short relatively warm winter, which means inhabitants of Shenzhen enjoy a gentle tropical climate year round with plenty of sunshine and light rainfall.

HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE IN SHENZHEN?

From a fishing and farming market town of 30,000 people, Shenzhen is today one of the fastest-growing cities in the world with a population of roughly 11 million (20 million including the unregistered migrant population) –larger than Los Angeles or London.

Shenzhen today

Shenzhen prior to 1979

WHAT IS THE ECONOMY OF SHENZHEN LIKE?

Shenzhen is China’s first designated Special Economic Zone and has the highest GDP per capita in China. Known as “China’s Silicon Valley”, Shenzhen is a leading global technology hub with companies like Tencent, Huawei, ZTE and BYD all headquartered within the city.

Qianhai, the 26 million m2 free trade zone within Shenzhen where Whittle School is located, has the further distinction of being tipped to develop into the fourth largest core business centre in the world after London, Tokyo and Manhattan.

WHAT IS THERE TO DO IN SHENZHEN ?

Voted a UNESCO Creative City, Shenzhen boasts everything from the sandy white beaches of Dameisha to historical sites dating from the 14th century.

Shenzhen is also a shopping mecca with Luohu Commercial City, CocoPark and many other malls catering to every taste.

The world’s greatest electronics market, Huaqiangbei, is located in Shenzhen.

For modern architecture lovers, 11 new skyscrapers were built in 2017 alone and China’s second tallest building, the 588 metre Ping An Finance Centre is located in Shenzhen. For sports fanatics, there’s everything from a rugby union to the Mission Hill Golf Club.

ARTS

Shenzhen has become a hub of art and design in China.

Shenzhen is the outpost of London’s V&A Museum. The gallery is part of Design Society, a much larger arts-andculture district emerging in the Shekou Peninsula, in western Shenzhen.

Shenzhen is also home to the famous Dafen Oil Painting Village, said to have produced 60% of the world’s replica oil paintings at its peak in the 2000s.

For music lovers, the Shenzhen Concert Hall is one of the most important symbolic cultural architectures in Shenzhen. Located in the central area of Futian District, it covers a surface area of 26,345 square meters and a construction area of 41,423 square meters.

Designed by the famous Japanese avant-grade architect Arata Isozaki, Shenzhen Concert Hall is one of the most acoustically and architecturally sophisticated concert halls in China.

WHAT’S THE FOOD LIKE IN SHENZHEN?

You can enjoy Michelin starred restaurants like Shang Palace or Kingkey 100 but popular recreational areas like Seaworld in Shenzhen’s expat hub of Shekhou offers a wide variety of excellent international restaurants: French, Italian, Indian, Thai, Korean, Turkish, Japanese, Russian, Mexican, Spanish, American…

CAN YOU BUY NON-CHINESE GROCERIES IN SHENZHEN?

Shenzhen boasts many international supermarkets like Olé, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Carrefour, Metro, and BLT where foreigners can buy just about anything they could hope to purchase in their home country.

PROXIMITY TO HONG KONG

With the opening of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen High Speed Train, travel distances between Hong Kong West Kowloon and the Futian District of Shenzhen have been cut to as little as 20 minutes. There are also regular ferries (about 40 minutes) and buses (about 50 minutes) between the two cities.

Many day-trippers come across the border from Hong Kong just for a spa experience. Shenzhen is known for its luxurious spa palaces where you can indulge in a massage, facial, mani/pedi while enjoying multiple floors of plunge pools and buffet dining.

SHENZHEN WITH CHILDREN

There are many family-centred theme parks and activities in Shenzhen: - Shenzhen Safari Park - Window of the World

- Shenzhen Children’s Paradise Park - Trampoline Park - Happy Valley Amusement Park - China Folk Culture Village - Playa Maya Water Park - Shenzhen Museum

- hike Lianhua Mountain - children’s cooking classes

- ocean activities ・sailing ・scuba diving ・surfing ・kiteboarding, etc.

The entire mission, vision, and scope of Whittle School & Studios is captured in our comprehensive book authored by founder and C.E.O. Chris Whittle. A gift to all of our readers, the digital version of our book is available immediately when scanned by your smartphone above.

www.whittleschool.org