Recently I had the wonderful experience of being invited on photo trip outings. It is related to a contest that I entered for Expat Photographers that was sponsored by Shenzhen Daily and eyeshenzhen.com. My photo did not come in one of the coveted places but it was recognized and awarded in the finalist selection. The two news organizations have since went on to encourage the photographic efforts of expats by organizing these trips with local governments within Shenzhen. I have been on two so far and they have been truly wonderful. As is fitting I will start with the most recent trip and maybe I will get around to the first trip one of these days. Ha.

We headed out to the Guangming district of Shenzhen. Guangming is slated to be a hub for science and technology within the next ten years. At the moment it is still being developed but there is a lot to like already. Our trip was a jam packed day of mini-stops here and there. We started at Shenzhen clock and watch industrial bases, courtesy of FIYTA watches. Then we headed to the Hongqiao Park, Red Bridge Park, a very busy tourist area that is a beautiful red set against a green space, very eye-catching. Then we had lunch at the Guangming district headquarters (I will not be sharing photos from this stop despite this being a beautifully designed building because I was asked not to). Then we headed to Guangming Farm and enjoyed a visit with cows and learned about a local dairy company. From there we headed up a mountain to see three other bridges that were pretty amazing in Dadingling Green Way. Then we headed down for snack time at Guangming Science City Exhibition Center. Then we headed to OCT Park where we were invited to pick strawberries that we got to take home, yum! Guangming district, EyeShenzhen, and Shenzhen Daily were wonderful hosts.

I will post this in two installments since this is a photo essay and the photos are numerous.

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The watch museum was interesting. I do not think it gets regular visits or is actually meant to. It showed a lot of brands I hadn’t heard of but they seemed really intricate and interesting. The main brand name was FIYTA and it seems they produce other more specialized brands as well.

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This park seems to just exist for a nice day out. It’s a long red bridge for walking on and a park and greenery surrounding it. I hear it is a big tourist draw but I had not known it existed until this trip. I do see the appeal though and plan to visit it again in a not too hot day. There is not a lot of shade on the bridge and it’s smart to bring drinks and snacks. It is several kilometers long.

The next stop was the government building for lunch. It was a nice lunch but I can not share pictures of the place. They asked us not too and did so very politely. So look for part 2 for the spots we visited after lunch.