Transition in Transit

City in transition or transit city? Both are apt descriptions of Shenzhen. Just three weeks earlier my good friend had arrived in transit from Australia using Shenzhen as her port of entry into mainland China from Hong Kong. As we hurried through the airport arrivals area in search of the ‘left luggage’ counter we bumped into one of my ex-pat friends – also in transit from Hong Kong to Chongqing – and we would compare summer holiday highlights a few weeks later when I returned to Chongqing. In a little more than 24 hours my friend and I would both be in transit here again as she finally took her leave of me and China.

Shenzhen has been described by some as a young city without a soul but it’s my opinion that there are many other Chinese cities more deserving of this title. Shenzhen is one of China’s four Special Economic Zones or SEZ, a status awarded in 1980 mainly because of it’s proximity to the economic power base of Hong Kong. SEZ’s are given special, flexible economic policies and management systems to encourage business and industry to develop here making Shenzhen a new ‘mecca’ for domestic and foreign interests. Shenzhen SEZ is indeed a very modern and progressive city in transition, but the area has been inhabited for centuries and relics to support the ancient societies had been found at many sites around the county. The city offers countless opportunities for both the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’, thus attracting its fair share of con men, pick pockets and scam artists.

Today we would transit Shenzhen making a quick overnight detour to Huizhou and Daya Bay before returning again to Shenzhen to say our final farewell in this transit city. After our luxurious overnight in Daya Bay, we arrived back at Shenzhen’s massive transport transit terminus, Luohu, a combination of bus and train terminals and a commercial shopping centre. Our glimpse of the city as we returned was not disappointing – supporting the tourist advertising – with parks, gardens, waterways and tree-lined boulevards, leaving us with a good first impression. Shenzhen is situated on the western side of beautiful Dapeng Bay with its blue water and beautiful sandy beaches, overlooked by the majestic Wutong, Phoenix, and Nanshan mountains, the fascinating Swallow Rock, and the nearby Red Woods, a haven for migratory birds.

Our first objective was to make enquiries about transport to Beihai where I would spend a few days at the beach before returning to work. No trains were available so I checked into the Railway Station Hotel which straddles the station – at the time undergoing a massive makeover – to follow up on bus schedules later in the afternoon. Last minute shopping for gifts and souvenirs was our next priority and the Luohu commercial centre above the bus depot is as good a place as any for one stop shopping. ‘Knock offs’ of well known brands of clothing and accessories, paintings and art supplies, tea and tea sets, manchester and luggage, and satiny, sensual silks from Shanghai and Suzhou abound in this six story complex. A couple of hours of browsing, buying and constant heckling was enough for us and the time was fast approaching for my friend to leave.

We collected our bags from storage and made our way to the airport shuttle bus in the fume filled bowels of the bus depot. After a lingering hug and a few tears she boarded the bus and was gone. With an empty feeling I strode purposefully across the open plaza to my hotel. I had little time to mope about – I had plans to make if I was to catch a bus to Beihai. The West Bus station is located on the other side of the train station and I made my way through maze of halls and corridors in the hotel to the ‘back’ door. I discovered that I had just missed that day’s over night sleeper bus to Beihai – thankfully. Tomorrow’s overnight bus would be too late and leave me in Shenzhen for another full day. Looking at my map for another option, I’d return in the morning and take a bus to somewhere on route.

Since I needed to purchase a few small items I headed back to the shopping centre with plans to have a look at the upper floors which we had skipped earlier in the afternoon. This is when I discovered much to my delight the textiles and silks and custom clothing tailors on the sixth floor. While I wasn’t buying, I always love browsing in the fabric stores and imagining what I could make from this piece or that. It was here that I struck up a conversation with tall and striking young women from the north of China. She made a precarious living promoting Shanghai silks and custom made clothes to tourists like me. Finding conversation easy we chatted for a few minutes discovering that we shared many common interests and beliefs.

As we were both eager to talk I invited her to share a meal with me if she had the time. For several hours over dinner we chatted through a wide range of topics and she marvelled all the while at how well I understood her. She spoke good English despite her lack of confidence and what would have been a rather sad and lonely night for me became one of those serendipitous moments in life. That night, in transit in Shenzhen I farewelled one of my long-time and closest friends and met and made another precious friend.

The following morning, I packed my bags with great anticipation and headed out the back door of my hotel once again. It seemed strange to be travelling solo again but I had done it before and would make the most of it whatever happened. A bus to Wuzhou just over the border in Guangxi would leave around 9.30am and take about six hours. This suited me well and I had no doubt I could make another connection from Wuzhou to Beihai later in the afternoon. As my coach left Shenzhen we followed the coast, past the port area of Shekou, skirting to the southwest of the city through some very new suburbs with wide tree line roads and a multitude of new apartment buildings and parklands. The economy is booming and Shenzhen blossoms in the sun during this season of transition.

Most of the way across the Pearl River Delta, south of Guangzhou the road is elevated with a lot of long bridges spanning the tributaries and waterways of the delta. The scenery is a mix of farmlands, roadways and small industrial cities with well known brand names blazoned on billboards and signs – the only things I could read – in English of course. We eventually emerged on the western side of the delta area into farmlands where the highway follows the northern bank of the West River for most of the way to Wuzhou. At midday we passed through the famous Seven Star Crags at Zhaoqing where the bus pulled off the road for a pit stop. It soon became obvious that everyone was settling down for a meal – nothing special but it was included in the ticket price. I shared a table with my fellow passengers in the outdoor, no-smoking section as I picked my way through a bowl of something less than appetizing.

It was short stop. Local farmers sold longans and bananas from bicycle stalls in the car park. Our journey resumed and we continued following the brown muddy waters of the Xi River on our left. The only changes to the scene that sped past the bus window was the addition of small banana plantations amongst the rice terraces, villages and quarries as I ponder if I would ever pass through Shenzhen again.