KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Hi there,

Has anyone brought their family to Shenzhen and Guangdong cities?

Am considering this for Dec hols...

tks.

i've heard that ShenZhen not safe for kids... go there with 2... come back with 1

Just came back from Guangzhou in June. Personally, I think GZ is not suitable for kids.

The roads are very messy (very common to see people anyhow cross the streets and cars not stopping, so a lot of times have to cross at your own risk) and a lot of buildings are quite run down, with bamboo poles build outside, and it is a common sight to see tiles on pavement missing, so you have to be careful when you walk.

Washroom is a must NO GO. I avoided drinking any water when I was outside. DH visited one of the unisex washroom and to his horror found a used sanitary pad there :!:

Also everywhere I went, there is a sign about being careful to avoid pickpocket. People are not helpful there (though we speak the same language - Mandarin), including the police. Have to be careful of people there jacking up the prices etc (e.g the hotel (should be about 5star type) we stayed in, 1st day can quote us RMB280, 2nd day RMB320, 3rd day RMB300 etc, like stocks market )

Lastly, the air pollution can be quite bad, together with the hygiene (people smoking openly even in restriced areas).

The only good point I guess is that the things there are cheap. But still, I will not be bringing my kids there. Safety wise is a major concern for me too (everyday while I was there, when I watched their local news, there will definitely be 2 or more cases on fraud, assault (even assault the police), teenages missing etc)

Thanks... Personally I'm not overly keen on those places too, but DW suggested it based on familiarity, as she was there few weeks back, and said got things/places for kids... guess it's a case of whatever familiar then suggest...

Another reason is that we're likely going with my parents, and they will take the opportunity to go back to our hometown/village which is near guangzhou...

in that sense, SZ/GD might not be a good choice if it's based solely on family vacation reason alone, but given the situation, i'm trying to see whether it'll work out.

Guangzhou and Shenzhen are not suitable for kids and also adults

what is there to see ? nothing except run down buildings and dirty streets and messy roads....ceaseless honking

shop and eat ? many many other places are equally cheap and good

Not visiting Guangzhou and Shenzhen : nothing missed

Rather go to those places like Zhang Jia Jie or Jiu Zhai Gou or Lijiang and make your trip worth it. Many places in China are worth visiting but you can skip all the main cities except Shanghai & Beijing

I have been travelling in and out of China regularly and frequently since the 90s

atrecord wrote:Thanks... Personally I'm not overly keen on those places too, but DW suggested it based on familiarity, as she was there few weeks back, and said got things/places for kids... guess it's a case of whatever familiar then suggest...

Another reason is that we're likely going with my parents, and they will take the opportunity to go back to our hometown/village which is near guangzhou...

in that sense, SZ/GD might not be a good choice if it's based solely on family vacation reason alone, but given the situation, i'm trying to see whether it'll work out.

that would be a different justification

may be work it out in such a way that it is a "drop by", say on transit from Guangzhou to Zhang Jia Jie, just an example

verykiasu2010 wrote:

atrecord wrote:Thanks... Personally I'm not overly keen on those places too, but DW suggested it based on familiarity, as she was there few weeks back, and said got things/places for kids... guess it's a case of whatever familiar then suggest...

Another reason is that we're likely going with my parents, and they will take the opportunity to go back to our hometown/village which is near guangzhou...

in that sense, SZ/GD might not be a good choice if it's based solely on family vacation reason alone, but given the situation, i'm trying to see whether it'll work out.

that would be a different justification

may be work it out in such a way that it is a "drop by", say on transit from Guangzhou to Zhang Jia Jie, just an example

Any idea what is the weather like in Dec for China? With all the floods now, places like zhang jia jie and jiu zhai gou to me is a no no.

December weather in China is very much dependent on where u go

It could be tropical / sub-tropical Hainan to minus 30 C in the north east near the russian border.... and anything in between ....lol


seriously in Guangdong, normal temp is just like HK in Dec, further north in Guangdong could be around 2C lower/colder

Think also consider how old are the kids..if too young,definitely not a good place to go.
must tink of the water they can drink..if still gonna milk feed, hard to find trustworthy drinking water.

And yar, someone mentioned abt the cigarette smell...it was terrible. I brought my few mth old baby to GZ/SZ then...and went to eat. After the meal, the whole stroller plus our clothes are all stenched with cigarette smell!

Plus its so crowded that its so hard to push stroller around in shoppg area...

Hi,
We were there in Dec 2008 on our own with our kids, 11, 8 and 4 yrs old. Our 2nd stop after Macau Venetian, enroute to HK Disneyland.

My kids enjoyed Happy Valley, Splendid China and Window of the world in SZ. The hotel we stayed was 5 mins walk to Window of the world and u can take the monorail to Splendid China. If your focus is on kids fun and not shopping (messy and can easily get lost), SZ is ok with the theme park.