The quality of the doctors in China varies greatly. Even in the best hospital of Shenzhen (Peking University hospital) the quality does not always seem as good. One example: I went to the hospital and when you register for a consult, you need to say if you want to see an expert doctor or just anyone. We picked an expert (it was only 8RMB in total anyway!). After waiting for a while in the waiting room, the doctor could see us. Downstairs we had read her resume, and it looked impressive. But what a shock!

Today, saturday May 16th 2009, we went for the first time to the China International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF) the Exhibition Center in Shenzhen. I took some photos during our visit:

The Fifth China International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF) will open Friday May 15th 2009 at the Exhibition Center in Futian district in Shenzhen and run till the 18th of May. The aim of the exhibition is to showcase the cultural and creative industry. It is the only nation-standard international cultural fair. There are performances, gifts, art and lots more. The event is particularly interesting for domestic and international organizations and individuals who are interested in the development of China’s cultural industries, especially venture capitalists, strategic investors in the cultural industries, cultural creative enterprises and manufacturers and sellers & agents of cultural products. Expats can enjoy free admission.

Below you will find the different themes for the main halls of the center. Besides the main location, there are also several subveneus throughout Shenzhen.

I sometimes get asked "what should I visit in Shenzhen?".  Obviously it all depends on what you are interested in, if you travel with (little) kids etc. Because most visitors reading my website are from Western countries, I assume you are not particularly interested in seeing a Swiss village (OCT East) or miniature famous Western buildings or the Eiffel Tower (Window of the World).

That leaves the question, what IS interesting and can be done in two days Shenzhen?

OCT East is a theme park that was opened in summer of 2007, but it's a bit hard to place it into a certain category. OCT is one of the biggest real estate companies in Shenzhen. They somehow managed to buy an area of about 9 square kilometers in the east of Shenzhen, close to DaMeiSha beach. The main attactions are the three major theme parks: Knight Valley, Tea Stream Valley and Wind Valley. There are lots of houses built in Swiss style, there is a tea area and there are performances during certain times of the day. There is also a huge golf course, hotels and real estate.

Poly Theater, better known as 'the Egg' in Shenzhen because of the shape of the building, is located in Nanshan district close to the new bridge to Hong Kong. Next to Poly Theater is the Coastal City shopping complex .  The theater is less big than I expected, but is very modern and has good facilities. Chairs are comfortable, light was great, sound was good.

Street food is very popular in China, especially for young people (because it is cheap). For a few yuan you can eat noodle while you sit down on mini plastic chairs next to the road. It's also very popular to get bbq squid or other meat on a stick. I've started to collect some pictures about this. See more photos below:

Saizeriya opened its first Italian Restaurant in april 2009 in Dong Men (Luohu district) in Shenzhen. After talking to one of the waitresses, we found out that  Saizeriya already has several branches in Guangzhou and it is very popular there.  After eating in the restaurant the 11th of April, we fully understand why. Saizeriya tastes good and is very cheap. Forget about Pizza Hut or Spaghetti House, this is the new place to be!

The food arrived quick to our table and everything tasted fresh and was very hot. We only spend 66 yuan for 2x salad (2x8Y), 1x seafood doria (10Y), 1x spaghetti (9Y), spicy sausages (12Y), 1x cheese cake (10Y) and 1x icecream with fruit (9Y) . Great restaurant, highly recommended.