My First Glimpse of Mainland China

My parents couldn’t care less if we go or not but I was raring to go…….even for a glimpse of Mainland China!

I would have wanted to go somewhere else, a more culturally-rich place like Xian or even Guangzhou, but we only have 2 days left of our Hongkong trip so I opted instead to visit the nearby Shenzhen.

From our Hongkong hotel, we were taken by bus to the train station at Hunghom and told to board the train going to Luohu border. With our huge luggages (I have to carry my father’s luggage also coz I don’t want him to get over-burdened) that most often doesn’t fit into the station gates, it was really a hassle travelling this way.

Especially with timing advisories like these……………..

It is just about an hour from Hunghom to the Lok Ma Chau/Lo Wu border. It was a tedious process of carrying your luggages from the time you alight at the Lo Wu station then walk out towards the Shenzhen side, with hundreds of people around you. Then we had to wait for everyone in our tour group coz we have a group visa and they won’t let anyone go through unless everyone in the list is there in the queue!

By the time we got through, I think we were in the immigrations area for about an hour already. Afterwards, it’s again another round of lugging around with our suitcases and we had to go out of the station and go to the parking area to look for our tour bus. The weather also is colder than in Hongkong which just doesn’t help the mood we were in.

I had to go back & forth to get our bags down as my parents doesn’t the energy to carry the heavy bags down. Sabi ni mader, it’s because of the cold….her hands must have gone numb! Lol

Shenzhen is one of the most densely populated cities in China and as the first successful SEZ – Special Economic Zone experiment of capitalist China it also enjoys being the richest with the highest GDP per capita income in the country. The city is just exploding with nonstop migration of rural Mainlanders trying their luck to cash in on the booming economic miracle, expatriates also enjoying the cushy lifestyle afforded to them by their companies, and the influx of tourists from Hongkong and Guangzhou. This is against the backdrop of a bland, plain environment full of uninteresting concrete blocks.

Not the best introduction to China, eh? The land of the Terracotta Warriors and the Great Wall…..oh well…

Our tour immediately started with a trip to the Jewellery factory, with emphasis on Jade stones which is considered a very important stone by the Chinese. I bought a jade necklace din for good luck for the entire year. Awww!

Around 2pm we finally stopped for lunch. The food was so-so. Parang pang bangketa variety lang pero as in sobrang ubos! Hahaha we were so hungry that we wiped off our plates! Walang tinira!

After lunch, another factory outlet awaited us. By then I was so sleepy and tired, I lost track of where we are already, I cannot even remember the name of the factory. I came out early and immediately told the tour guide that can she please drop us in the hotel already coz I just want to go out on our own! She told us we will have one more stop – Window of the World.

Apparently, you haven’t been to Shenzhen if you have not visited Window of the World, a theme park full of miniature replicas of the major attractions in the world. So off we went and of course, photo ops! Hahahahaha

Mid-afternoon, we told my father that we are going shopping and so he can take a rest in the hotel. After about 4 hours (we thought he would be snoring and totally rested), we came back and he was fuming mad and waiting for us!

Yun pala, he wanted something from the reception (either ung TV ang di gumana or ung lights) but no one understands what he is saying. Amazingly, when I went down to the reception to ask them later for directions to a nearby grocery shop they asked me to write what I want and then they typed it in Google for translation to Chinese! Nalokez moi! Akala ko nagdrama lang yung tatay ko earlier kaya di namin pinansin ni mader! Lol

I told my mother we only have one night in Shenzhen so we better explore the city on foot! Hanggang sa inulan kami and we had to go back. But God! With the drizzle came the biting-cold air which seeps into even the thick overcoat that we had on! I really cannot live here…..

 And look at my mother’s face…..hahahhaha……as in nangangatog sa ginaw!