Shekou

Shekou is a real collectors item; situated within the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, but separated from the city proper by around 20 kms of highway, it is the principal port serving the zone. The foreigners of Shekou form one of the oldest continuous populations of expatriates in China, going back to the earliest days of the opening-up reforms in the country. This is largely due to the oil extraction in the South China Sea, which brought in the big international players as well and the oil-field service companies in their train. With the boom in manufacturing of electronics and textiles in the last 20 years a large number of foreign specialists have moved in. A few thousand foreigners live in the area now and represent many nationalities.

One of the first landmarks in the area, right next to the ferry terminal, is the Nan Hai Hotel. Constructed in the 1980’s this was, in its day, a smart hotel. It still attracts business people in large numbers and quite a few of the weekend Hong Kong crowd as well. The hotel has been looking a bit tired in recent years but is currently undergoing a revamp. The bar and restaurants are okay but not overly endowed with atmosphere. The basement offers a good place to play billiards.

The oil men of the early days in Shekou found an environment largely devoid of the facilities they are accustomed to and there was nowhere catering for their particular interests and cravings. How things have changed. Needing a place to relax and imbibe a few refreshments the foreign Shekou dwellers of the mid 1980’s obtained permission to establish a members club. This was not, legend tells, a straightforward affair but somehow the necessary permissions were granted. Thus the Snake Pit was born. As the name implies the club was not conceived as a center of learning and culture and the founder members will be proud of the unwavering dedication of the club through the years to it’s earliest principles. They will be pleased, for example, that the disgusting snake-impregnated baijiu quaffing initiation ceremony has been retained as a test of the metal of all would-be members. Membership is open to all and here you can drink some of the cheapest beer – if not the most imaginative selection – available anywhere in China. The Pit, along with other establishments along Taizi Road, is due to move in the next couple of months to a new location, in the interests of upgrading the district. The new home of the Pit will be a few hundred metres north in the recently completed China Merchants-built Taizi Square (above the Red Lantern Restaurant).

There are ‘other establishments’ that have popped up around the Snake Pit in the years following its opening. These are the famous Shekou girly bars, a couple of dozen or so, in which many an unsuspecting expat has met his nemesis (and occasionally his new missus too). Bar names change frequently – and anyway the places are pretty much interchangeable; the décor has usually not over taxed the resources of the management, the music is loud, the drinks are predictable and not cheap – but that’s not really the point. Just don’t keep your wallet in your back pocket.

A few bars focusing on atmosphere, good drinks and food, and attracting a broader range of customers, have cropped up in recent years. Chief amongst these is the successful McCawley’s Bar, behind the new Sea View Square. Here good draft beer, including Guinness, a real rarity in South China, can be downed and hefty portions of well cooked traditional grub consumed while watching sports on the big screen, or listening to live Irish music; a good place to start, or finish, an evening.

From a paltry selection a few years ago the area now boasts some quality restaurants. One of the few that has lasted is Casablanca, in the Yin Bun Building on Taizi Road. Casablanca has suffered its ups and downs over the years but currently, under the management of the redoubtable Michele Leger, is back on form providing good quality international food and consistent service in a relaxed environment.

An important addition of recent years is the development, of the new square constructed in front of the eternally land-locked Ming Hua ship. (The ship, now a long way from the sea due to the land-fill encroachment, was the site of Deng Xiao Ping’s legendary ‘To get rich is glorious’ speech that heralded the transformation of South China). The Sea View Square, although not yet fully occupied, has altered the pattern of leisure in the area. There are also excellent restaurants offering Thai, Indian and Russian cuisine, and a new brasserie planned for opening soon. Just north from the square is the justly popular Gypsies, run by father and son team Xavier and Dorian Chang. Gypsies offers consistently good food and has a short but excellent quality wine list with some of the keenest prices in Mainland China.

There is also, as you would expect, a lot of variety when you want to eat Chinese food and some of the restaurants are also investing in modern Chinese décor of a level of sophistication that would have been inconceivable only two or three years ago. However, the Red Lantern in Taizi Square is one of the old school. You may have a bit of an argy bargy trying to get them to clean the detritius of the last occupants off the table, and to actually use real water in the cleaning

process, but the struggle will be worthwhile, resulting in excellent food at extremely reasonable prices.

Finally, when the delights of Shekou begin to pall, there is always recourse to the ferry. It is, of course, damning with faint praise to include in a list of benefits of any place the ease of escape, but in the case of Shekou the proximity to Hong Kong and Macao must be mentioned. Within a five to ten minute stroll of all

the places mentioned above is the ferry terminal and easy, regular access to many things that, until now, the Mainland (Beijing and Shanghai included) still does not offer. Actually most Shekou residents find what they need locally, but just knowing how close the facilities are is rather pleasing. The ferry journey is comfortable and low hassle, interesting in terms of the volume and variety of shipping seen and, if you are lucky you may also see the rare (and becoming rarer) pink dolphin en route. When even Hong Kong and Macao are not enough then a run for Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong’s airport, is the only answer and the ferry time from Shekou direct to the airport is just 30 minutes.

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