Jumping the Border
It’s been a while since we visited Hong Kong’s parasitic twin, but we found Shenzhen still has plenty to offer.
WHAT TO DO
Check out outer-space vegetables.
Well, sort of. Ever since they developed a space program, China has been enthusiastically sending seeds to outer space in rockets. Head to the Shenzhen Outer Space Crops Park to check out the alleged final products. The 40,000-square-meter park is actually a scientific research plant which is now open to the public. There are man-sized green eggplants, huge yellow peppers and white tomatoes that look like eggs – all, they say, mutated by the “gravity” of space.
Shenzhen Outer Space Crops Park, Xiang Mi Hu Lu, Futian District, 8371-2325. Nearest metro station: Che Gong Miao.
Be the first Shenzhen Idol.
If there’s one thing Shenzhen is good at, it’s providing services to satisfy your darkest desires. The latest one is in Lichee Park, where you can shoot your own music video. The whole thing looks a little dodgy with poorly decorated rooms boasting but a karaoke machine and attached video camera. Pick the song (USD$1.50 a song; three song minimum), then pick the background (gloomy winter snow? patriotic Chinese flag? Flying over the cityscape of Los Angeles?). Your videos will then be recorded and burned on a CD.
Karaoke not your cup of tea? Lichee Park is pretty nice by itself. With all of the vegetation and some mighty pretty trees around, you’ll find yourself wondering why our parks in Hong Kong can’t be half as nice as this.
Lichee Park, 2109-0381; 137-255-66750. Nearest metro station: Da Ju Yuan
Art in Shenzhen? Head to O-CAT.
Shenzhen is all about tackiness, but if you’re sick of pirated goods and happy endings, head to new art space O-CAT (Contemporary Art Terminal), Shenzhen’s swipe at Beijing’s 798 area. The space is a converted factory and includes a two-storey warehouse filled with galleries and design firms. A major tenant in the area is Hong Kong designer Kenneth Ko, who built a studio there, along with a nice home shop, a cafe, a noodle kitchen, and even a gym, which is decorated with huge portraits of steroid-addled musclemen. Seems even the most artistic place in Shenzhen has its fair amount of tackiness after all.
O-CAT, Overseas Chinese Town, 2691-6199, www.o-cat.net. Nearest metro station: Qiao Cheng Dong
While you’re there...
Go to the He Xiangning Art Museum, just a 10-minute walk away. O-CAT was in fact engineered by this private art museum, which has become a major power supporting the contemporary art scene in China. The museum is currently showing works from some hot Chinese contemporary artists including Zhang Xiaogang and Wang.
He Xiangning Art Museum, Overseas Chinese Town, 2660-4540, www.hxnart.com. Nearest metro station: Hua Qiao Cheng
Buy old toys from days of yore.
At the vintage toy stalls outside the fancy Citic City Plaza, you’ll find a range of vintage toys made of bent iron and tin, including models of the world’s first fire engine and airplane. Everyone likes nostalgia, once in a while. We remember it well...
Vintage Toy Stall, Open Piazza outside Citic City Plaza