Street Photography in Shenzhen

Dongmen is one of Shenzhen's oldest commercial neighborhoods, a grid of pedestrian shopping streets and food lanes. Yuko, a street photographer based in China, describes grilled kebabs and roasted chestnuts from morning until late at night, and shot the interaction between vendors and customers with a 56mm lens. Evening is best, when the lights come on and the crowds peak. Stand at a food stall and wait for the moment of handing over. Keep a short lens and watch your bag in the crowds.

Wenheyou on Jiefang Road recreates the streets of 1990s Shenzhen inside an old building, with diners and video halls under period neon. China Daily lists it among the official photo spots, and points to the contrast between the nostalgic neon and the ultra-modern towers beyond. It is a staged setting, but the diners and queues are real. Come after dark. Shoot people under the old signs, or step outside for the flyover. Take Metro Line 1 to Laojie, exit G.

Huaqiangbei is the electronics market district in Futian, where multi-storey malls sell every component you can imagine. The pedestrian street outside is full of couriers pushing carts stacked with boxes. Weekday late mornings are busiest. Stand at a mall entrance and shoot the flow of carts across the street. Delivery riders on e-bikes weave through constantly, which suits a slow shutter pan. Inside the malls, traders often dislike cameras pointed at their stalls, so work outside. Street photography inside malls may be stopped by security.

Dafen, in Longgang, is a village of alleys lined with galleries where painters produce copies of famous works. Palate & Palette notes the village began in 1989, and that by 2014 about 7,000 artists worked there, turning out millions of paintings a year. Painters work at easels in doorways and in the lanes, surrounded by canvases. Come in the late morning or afternoon. Frame a painter at work beside a half finished Van Gogh. The metro ride from the center takes about an hour. Ask before photographing inside studios.

Nantou is an old walled town in Nanshan district, restored in recent years, with narrow lanes, old houses, small cafes and shops. It mixes older residents with young visitors. Late afternoon light is soft in the lanes. Stand at a lane junction and wait for a resident on a bicycle or a grandparent with a child to pass a restored doorway. It is quieter on weekdays, and the old gate and wall sections make good frames. People still live here, so keep your distance from doorways and homes.

Talent Park runs along Shenzhen Bay next to the Houhai Bridge, one of the official photo spots. China Daily describes seaside skyscrapers set against the bay, with the coordinated light show on the towers turning the area into a cyber city at night. Come for blue hour. Use the park's walkers and cyclists as silhouettes against the lit skyline, or frame people photographing the view. Take Metro Line 2 or 11 to Houhai, exit M. It is busy on weekend evenings.

Lianhuashan Park is a hill park in Futian, with a statue of Deng Xiaoping at the top and a view over the civic center and the CBD. Locals fly kites on the lawns below and exercise on the paths in the morning. Come in the late afternoon and climb to the top for the view. Work the kite flyers on the way down. Frame kite strings against the towers. Weekends are busiest. It is a relaxed place where people are used to cameras.

Shenzhen Bay Park is a long waterfront park looking across the bay toward Hong Kong's New Territories. Cyclists and anglers use the promenade, and families come for the sunset. Late afternoon is best, when the sun drops over the water. Shoot figures along the sea wall against the low sun, or the anglers with the bridge behind. The park is long, so pick a section near a metro station. The promenade is well lit, so you can stay past sunset for the city lights on the water.