ATTENTION ALL: Give Shenzhen's Shekou New Street a HARD PASS!!!
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Hey, guys, listen up: never go to the Shekou Xinjie Street in Shenzhen! Especially if you're there on vacation!
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Things are like this:
- I planned a day trip to Shenzhen during the "May Day Holiday," which is an important public holiday in China when many people go traveling.
- Before heading out, I scoured "Xiao Hongshu" (a super popular lifestyle and food recommendation platform in China that combines features similar to Instagram and Pinterest) for travel tips.
- Wow, out of ten recommendations, it seemed like nine mentioned, "Hurry up and visit Shekou Xinjie Street!", praising it to high heavens.
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Then, I really did go. And what happened?
- When I arrived at Shekou Xinjie Street, the shock was too much; I felt as though the sky had collapsed! This place...has absolutely nothing to eat!
- Initially, I thought it would be a bustling street lined with small food stalls and perfumed with enticing aromas, like some food alleys, right?
- No such luck! The whole street appears messy, selling very little food, and even worse, it has an unpleasant odor.
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And that leaves me bewildered:
- What magic tricks could those vendors and raving promoters online have used to hype this place so well, attracting tons of out-of-towners just like myself?
️ Fellow foreigners take note! Travel Tips to Avoid Traps: ️- Expectation Management: If you see endless praise online about a certain place, especially those so-called "internet hotspots", hold your horses and remain skeptical. According to my experience, Shekou Xinjie Street is far less fabulous than advertised.
- Beware of 'Gourmet Streets' in Name Only: Don't let its name fool you. From my experience, Shekou Xinjie Street offers barely any food choices and the environment is mediocre, falling short of a food lover's expectations.
- Multiple Sources of Information: Although platforms like Xiao Hongshu are convenient, their information may still vary widely in accuracy. It's best to cross-reference different opinions, or ask locals, rather than believing only one side of the story.
- Scent Alert: If you are sensitive to odors, the ambience might not suit your taste.
In summary, Shenzhen offers numerous exciting activities and tasty experiences. Personally, I genuinely don't recommend Shekou Xinjie Street to anyone; hope my experience alerts you accordingly! #ShenzhenTrip #AvoidPitfall #Shekou
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I honestly don't get why, when you search for Shenzhen guides on Xiaohongshu, eight out of ten recommend Shekou New Street. As someone not born and raised in Shenzhen, I'm looking up guides precisely because I don't know the place! I'm posting this as a reference for other out-of-town visitors like me. I really don't think it's worth being drawn here by all the Xiaohongshu hype. If you don't like this post, just scroll past. And please, keep comments civil—no need for snarky or passive-aggressive remarks!!!
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Honestly, the best thing to do in Shenzhen is go to Bao'an Airport and fly somewhere else for fun. If you want to 'do as the locals do,' you can wander around malls; UpperHills and MixC World are pretty good for photos. As for food, Shekou Old Street in Nanshan actually has a decent number of tasty options. Most other places are just full of chain restaurants you can find anywhere.
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Honestly, there's nothing particularly delicious in this area, including Jiahua Baicaotang, which is just a very average spot we locals don't usually go to. This part is really a residential area with a wet market, so the ambiance isn't great, and the shops are pretty old. It's definitely not worth making a special trip for. People here usually buy fresh ingredients from the market to cook at home or have them prepared at local eateries. It's been way overhyped, so high expectations will likely lead to disappointment, haha.
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Jiahua's zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) are actually delicious! Are there any other places nearby that make even better ones?
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Seriously? It's just a road leading to a wet market. What more were you expecting?
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Hahahaha, I'd advise them to steer clear of this area when they go out.
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There's a claypot rice spot nearby called 'Lao Guke' (Old Customer) that's delicious. And there used to be a great beef offal and sweet soup stall opposite Shekou Market, but they don't operate anymore.
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Why does everyone say 'Lao Guke' claypot rice is delicious? It's actually terrible, okay? Barely any better than the pre-packaged meal kit kind.
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I'm from Guangzhou and often visit this street in Shenzhen on weekends. I always make sure to have the claypot rice, dessert, BBQ
, and zongzi. Then I'll grab a shared bike for a ride to the seaside to watch the sunset – it's pretty relaxing. -
The claypot rice is decent.
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On Xiaohongshu, any random street can be hyped up as a tourist spot. If you actually believe it, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.
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I've lived here for 20 years, and this is the first I'm hearing of people coming here for the food. It used to be just a place for grocery shopping, which made sense. As for eating, the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) are passable, I guess. Other things are either too expensive for what they are, or just not very good. Most of the really tasty places I remember have moved away. Back in the early 2000s, there was an amazing beef noodle shop on the street to the left of the wet market, but it closed down around 2010.
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I haven't gone for xiao long bao since the price went up to 8 yuan per steamer basket.
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I don't get what's so appealing about a wet market that people make a trip for. I live nearby and I don't even usually buy my groceries here.
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So, where do you go instead? Meituan Groceries?
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This rice noodle shop is delicious!
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Are you a shill?
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It was absolutely terrible. The internet-famous spots had long queues, and the places without queues were just plain bad. My husband even chewed me out for my lousy planning.
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I recommend Xiao Nan Ji, a local Shenzhen dai pai dong (street food stall) – it's super delicious, but go early as there's always a queue. For tong sui (sweet soups), both it and 'Foshan Huang Shifu' next door are better than Baicaotang. The Tom Yum Goong Thai food there is good. 'Xin Luo Shuo' next door has decent Luosifen (river snail noodles). 'Liang Shan Bo' for Shandong cuisine offers generous portions at good prices and is pretty tasty. Near Sea World, there's 'Shunde Fishing Village' – you can order almost anything there without disappointment, though it's a bit pricey. For hotpot, try 'Xiao Huo Xi.' On Haichang Street, 'Xing Jiang Ji Bao' (Star-Prize Chicken Hotpot) is recommended. Also near Sea World, 'Zhang Cong Cong Chongqing Hotpot' is good, though the ambiance is just so-so. All of these are in Nanshan district.