The pics below are of Luohu port (and it's 3-story immigration center) which is in the Luohu district of Shenzhen (I live in Nanshan district - west of Luohu) which takes you to Hong Kong. From the outside, this building tends to look huge I think, but from the inside – especially when you're surrounded by a sea of humanity – it makes one feel like you're in a cork bottle. It takes me about an hour to get to this port as I have to take a bus and then the subway. There are a few checkpoints to get to Hong Kong from China's mainland and this is the Luoho checkpoint. The checkpoints get very crowded, especially during weekends and holidays. I went to Hong Kong during China's National Week and the border crossing was very crowded and busy with people shoving each other. According to the Luohu District People's Government, Luohu Port is the busiest land border crossing in the world. Shenzhen's subway as well as China's inter-city/province trains go to this port.
It's pretty frustrating to go to Hong Kong as you have to go through two sets of border control points / lines. You have to go through the PRC checkpoint and fill out a departure card and then go through the Hong Kong checkpoint and fill out an arrival card. It takes at least an hour to get through both. In between the two, you walk over the Shenzhen river (in an air-conditioned walkway) separating the mainland from the island. I'm fortunate to have an unlimited exit/entry Chinese visa so I can go to Hong Kong as many times as I wish. But I wish they would do away with the dual crossings since Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the PRC and Hong Kong's population is 95% ethnic Chinese. Though I understand the principle of “one country, two systems” in which Hong Kong has a different political system from mainland China, it would be nice to have a single border control station and eradicate the exit and arrival immigration cards.
Once you clear both immigration centers, you then take Hong Kong's subway to downtown if you wish. It takes me about a good three full hours to go from my apartment doorstep to downtown Hong Kong; one hour to get to the Luohu border crossing, one hour to get through both immigration control points, and another to get to downtown Hong Kong. So it's not ideal to do this trip in a day. It can be done but you're looking at six hours just for travel/transportation.
Some of the other pics are of the railway terminal as well as the Luoho downtown district.
The other pics below are of 'Commercial City' located at the Luohu port. It's an enclosed market/shopping mall located right outside the immigration control point. It's five stories and you can buy all type of stuff like DVDs, watches, handbags, clothes, shoes, audio-visual products, souvenirs, etc. There are also restaurants and massage parlors. Many Hong Kong 'one-day' visitors cross the border and venture no further into Shenzhen than this mall as Hong Kong is not cheap. Most of the items are either counterfeit or cheap Chinese replicas of designer brands. Most of the stalls try to use strong-arm bargaining tactics (not on me). Located around and outside the immediate immigration and railway are some hotels and restaurants. You can eat Chinese, Indian, Italian, American, Mexican, etc. There are also DQs, Starbucks, and KFCs. One can also get some great street food too (that's what I prefer).
Look at the luggage unattended in the last pic. I am amazyed. The owners must be close by. Love the tile insert of the mariner's star in the one pic. You made me laugh with the vendor no strong arming you..you are not a shopper and don't enjoy it and really there is not much you would have to really haggle for. Of course who really wants fake, faker, and faker faker. You probably could not buy anything of value unless you really knew someone who knew someone..that sort of thing. What a shame the hassle to get into HK. If you were Chinese native...would it be easier for one or just as much of a hassle. When they took over HK they should have melded it into China as a whole. I know it is supposed to be SUPER expensive. Guess you cannot even afford to stay overnight on a weekend in a hotel.Would make the trip not so labor intensive in a 24 hour period. The buildings are pretty and I like the way the Chinese tend to do colorful strip type of banners on buildings. Their script is so pretty. You know as you say HK is 95 %ethnic chinese...so you would think things would be different. I thought it would be way less and have a greater percentage of native born UK people still in HK. As I said in our conversation when I used to watch the sitcom HK with Rod Taylor I fell in love with the Chinese junks in the harbor but maybe that was Kowloon. Wonder what Hong Kong and Kowloon mean in Chinese. Nice post.
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