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Andrew Sun

Are Hongkongers starting to get bored of Shenzhen?
Lately, when I ask friends and acquaintances if they have any weekend plans north of the border, there is a lot less enthusiasm in their replies. I see a lot of shrugs, or people saying they don’t know when they’re going next.
I have no exact figures but anecdotally, the people around me are not doing as many day trips to our neighbouring city.
I cannot say if there is an actual decline in traffic. In fact, the evidence might point to the contrary. After all, a lot of people cross back and forth across the border daily for work and school.
But getting across the border from Hong Kong Island takes at least an hour by MTR, bus or car. Yes, the high-speed rail is faster, but it is more expensive, and unless you are just heading to the central business district in Futian, you need to change to another mode of transport to get to any other part of the city. For a return trip, we’re talking a minimum of two hours’ travel.
Yes, the range of dining, the quality and – of course – the prices are what make excursions to Shenzhen so appealing. A HK$500 (US$64) meal in Hong Kong might only cost HK$250 in Nanshan district. A massage or beauty treatment is also cheaper, while Sam’s Club and Costco will save you grocery money – assuming you are prepared to cart home bulk supplies of toilet paper, noodles and other amenities.

For working folks, that can amount to a significant chunk of change saved, but it also takes a lot of work and effort. I am sure there are budget-conscious residents who plan shopping errands in Shenzhen, but most of my friends do not do day trips for discounts. They were going for entertainment and dining fun.
After a couple of years of such diversions, I suspect the novelty of spending weekends in Shenzhen is waning. If I had to wade through crowds in train cars and border checkpoints every week, travel fatigue would set in really quickly.
Sure, there are people eager to explore even farther inland in the Greater Bay Area, even buying holiday homes in Zhuhai or Zhongshan. However, it feels like just as many Hongkongers who once readily headed for the border are starting to prefer to chill at home on a weekend.
As comedian Bill Maher says: I don’t know it as a fact, I just know it’s true.
Perhaps the Hong Kong-Shenzhen dynamic is gradually morphing into one closer to that between New York and New Jersey. In general, Manhattan residents do not cross into New Jersey just to shop or eat, even though it is usually cheaper. In actuality, young Jerseyans gravitate to the lights and glamour of New York when they want to have some fun.
Perhaps this is the goal Hong Kong should aim to (re)create. We are never going to be a cheaper location, but we should aim to be the place everybody else wants to be.
Then again, Shenzhen is not New Jersey.


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Are Hongkongers getting bored of weekend trips to Shenzhen?

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Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Andrew Sun suspects the novelty of shopping and dining weekends in cheaper Shenzhen is waning, with relaxed time at home more appealing


Andrew Sun suspects the novelty of shopping and dining weekends in cheaper Shenzhen is waning, with relaxed time at home more appealing.


Shenzhen

Hong Kong

China

Greater Bay Area

Tourism

China travel

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Mouthing Off

Are Hongkongers getting bored of weekend trips to Shenzhen?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Andrew Sun suspects the novelty of shopping and dining weekends in cheaper Shenzhen is waning, with relaxed time at home more appealing

Andrew Sun suspects the novelty of shopping and dining weekends in cheaper Shenzhen is waning, with relaxed time at home more appealing