Although Shenzhen is all very impressive, after a quick sniff around there's little reason to stay any longer than it takes to organize your next move into or out of the mainland. For a good glimpse of the city's shoppers, tourists, beggars and businessmen, spend an hour strolling along Renmin Lu, which runs northeast from the train station and Lo Wu border crossing through the centre. The International Trade Centre is a three-storey block on the corner of Jiabin Lu, full of people browsing through stocks of upmarket Chinese watches and perfume. Push on over Jiefang Lu and you're in the tangle of narrow lanes which formed the old town of Baoan , now a downmarket selection of stalls selling cheap clothes, shoes and gadgets. There's a historic monument of sorts here in a squat, blue-roofed diner on Qingyuan Lu - China's original McDonald's restaurant, now a KFC outlet.

For a shot of greenery, walk or catch bus #4 for 1.5km west from the centre along Shennan Zhong Lu to Litchi Park , a surprisingly refreshing, open space, with a nice lake and modern opera house , worth checking out for occasional performances of Chinese theatre. More reliably, hop on bus #204 from Jianshe Lu for the thirty-minute ride west to Shenzhen's three very professional theme parks , next to each other on the Guangshen Expressway (daily 8am-5.30pm; ¥100-120 for each park with various joint entry discounts) - look for a miniaturized Golden Gate Bridge spanning the road. Among limitless souvenir stalls, Splendid China and Window on the World are a collection of scale models of famous monuments such as the Great Wall and Eiffel Tower, while the Folk Culture Village is an enjoyably touristy introduction to the nation's ethnic groups - there are yurts, pavilions, huts, archways, rock paintings, and mechanical goats, with colourful troupes performing different national dances every thirty minutes.