SunIsland Holiday Hotel

Research labs

by shivan

These are us in the research lab, dressed like penguins...

We were visitng that office that afternoon and the first impression was that of an office made for visitors. There was an exposition area, anyway, and a guy explaining that had a terrible english. We understood almost nothing

Air flights from Shenzhen

by albaaust

We caught the plane from Shenzhen to Xian. The airline was China Southern and cost: 650 Yuan plus 50 Yuan fuel surcharge plus 100 Yuan other taxes. The flight itself took two and quarter hours and a very smooth flight. Our flight was for 9.15 am but we left at 9.45am and arrived at Xian at 12.05pm. We were carrying wine in our hand luggage bags. Customs requested that we have them wrapped in a polystyrene box at the packing area just before you go through customs. Cost about 5 yuan. The box was then put with the rest of our luggage.

Window to the World

by DreamingJosipa

If you don't have time to travel around the world, then you should come to the 'Window to the World' in Shenzhen. All the famous and beautiful scenes are here in original or smaller size. You could travel around the world in one day. There will be a big multiple cultural dance show every night on the stage in front of the Eiffel tower, every exciting!
Enjoy!

The Door to the West

by gaolei

"The Old Days"

I was in Shenzhen for the first time in 1993. By Chinese standards this was in the old days. Shenzhen had already developed a large glass and chrome downtown area, but that quickly disappeared as you drove a few miles toward the outskirts.

At the time, the freeways were still being built. To enter the Shenzhen Economic zone area everyone had to show their papers. This was done to keep the people from all over China from entering the city to look for work. Since I was working a mile outside the zone in Buji, I had to show a passport every day to get back to my hotel. When you take the freeway into Shenzhen, you will pass through the boundary where the guards used to stand, but it is no longer used.

"Anything can happen in China and probably will."

While working in a telephone wire factory in Buji, I heard a loud boom and, at the same time, the windows in the meeting room blew in. Since the building was still under construction, I guessed that the staging had fallen down. When I went outside, I saw this massive mushroom cloud over the city. Ammonium nitrate and other things being stored in the city by the army explodes and leveled several blocks.

The resulting fire burned intensely for the entire day. Shenzhen called Hong Kong for help, the first such request ever. Early in the morning the next day, the fire was brought under control. It continued to burn for another day and smoldered for a week.

The announcement from city officials indicated that something had happened and there was a big fire. The Hong Kong news claimed hundreds or thousands died. The city officials claimed 7 died. They said that they only count bodies, not missing people.

"Today"

Shenzhen is a huge city that is fully developed. The Shekuo district, which was an undeveloped area on the Southern end of the city is a great area for westerners to stay as you can see from the photos on subsequent pages.

The downtown section is the oldest modernized section of the city and it is where the train arrives from Hong Kong. Most visitors see this area first. Between this section and Shekuo is about 10 miles of shopping areas, apartments and palm trees lined streets. There is a waterfront park where you can look out over the bay and see the new suspension bridge to Hong Kong. Things really have changed in the past 15 years.

Running through Great Scenery

by Cuteclu

"Starting at the Hotel"

The sole purpose of this trip was to run and to have fun.

We started the run off at our beautiful hotel. Surrounded by water, trees, and mountains, this hotel was the perfect place to begin!

"Hiking the Slippery Slope"

Running with us does not always mean running.

Sometimes it means hiking up some incredibly steep mountain sides...and the beach was no exception. At least this mountain had some gorgeous, if not deadly, things to look down at.

See the rocks below...

"Through the lush green terrain"

Not a lot of people think that China has lush green forests....but it does!

Weekly, my firends and I explore the wonders of China around Guangzhou (notably, on of the most polluted cities in China) and find green spaces that even Canadians love.

The beach had it all...sand, surf, and green spaces. Just look at the faces of those happy runners.

"Ending on the beach"

There's nothing like running along the sandy beach to make you tired.

It's a good thing we decided to do it at the end of our run, so everyone could hurle themselves into the sea when they were exhausted.

It really was picturesque.