A week ago, I rode the MTR northward for an hour to Shenzhen, in mainland China. Everyone in Hong Kong talks about Shenzhen as the place for bargain shopping, where you can get tailored clothes for a fraction of what they cost here. By "fraction," I mean, for example, US$10 for a skirt, US$50 for a full-length wool winter coat. And these are custom-made to your measurements and design specifications, with fabric you choose yourself. Lots of other things are available too, like clever copies of designer sunglasses and handbags, shoes, watches, electronics, and luggage.Salespeople are polite, but will follow you around, talking all the while. They also have an uncanny ability to remember every customer who walks away from a potential sale. If they see you come around again, they'll call out to you, sometimes with a better deal. I didn't see anything with a price tag, as you've got to haggle, and haggle hard, to get away with the best deal, usually one-third to one-half of the original asking price.
With prices like these, you can understand why everyone brings a wheeled suitcase when they go shopping in Shenzhen. This is what it looks like when everyone rushes off the train and heads over to Immigration -- you think you're going to the airport:
Directly on the other side of Immigration is the Luo Wu Commercial City.
The Commercial City is part of this enormous plaza.
After a couple of hours of browsing around, I got the sense that this must be what pure, unbridled capitalism looks like. Making money through the manufacturing and selling of stuff is Shenzhen's entire reason for being. There's a boomtown feel to the city, a frontier energy that I imagine was part of the California Gold Rush or something like that. I'm still not sure if I'll be taking advantage of Shenzhen's bargains, because once I figure in the cost of my visa, anything I buy there ends up not being such a bargain after all. As an American, I had to buy a visa for entry into the mainland (although having a Hong Kong identity card made the immigration process a breeze). This visa cost over US$200, good for only two visits in six months -- and this was the most I could get! Also, there's the value of my time. A trip there can take up most of the day, and I think there are other things I'd rather be doing.
Still, I'm glad I went and had at least one look. I've seen the face of the modern Chinese economy, and it's a crazy, awesome power. I see why economists keep their eye on China....
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