the electronics markets are overwhelming in size and quantity. imo either try to have an idea of what you're looking for, or be prepared to spend a few days to absorb it all. don't get me wrong, that's my idea of fun, but it might not be for your companions.
i did find it hard to get used to the vendors. the shops are very small and you will be aggressively approached by the staff, which I found irritating. do also be prepared to haggle.
shenzhen itself is not that interesting otherwise. Because it is so new and because it is a city of transplants, you can tell there is not much unique culture. There are plenty of more fascinating places to explore in the PRD though; Guangzhou is a treasure
This is similar to my experience a few years ago. Wasn't as fun as I expected it to be due to (1) language barrier (I do understand kindergarten-level Mandarin, but technology is another world) (2) it's overwhelming on multiple levels and (3) as an obvious foreigner many of the vendors aggressively latched onto me as a bulk purchaser for overseas business, which led to nothing but frustration on both sides.
Shenzhen itself kinda feels like Blade Runner at night. I dig it in small doses. And I haven't been anywhere in China where people have as much patience for horrible laowai Mandarin skills so it's probably a good place to learn the language.
Guangzhou is lovely though. Hope I can make it back there someday.
I find Shenzhen fascinating because it IS a city of transplants and migrants - there's even a saying that sums it up quite nicely, roughly translated: If you live in Shenzhen, you're from Shenzhen. Another I saw on the side of a building was "One drink for home, another for Shenzhen"
One thing everyone seems to fail to mention when talking about Shenzhen is that you can do incredible food tours of all of China just by walking down the street - the place is jammed full of reasonably authentic regional food places.
I do generally agree that it's probably a bit dull for 'tourist' activities, but it ranks highly in my 'cities to generally hang about in' list!
i did find it hard to get used to the vendors. the shops are very small and you will be aggressively approached by the staff, which I found irritating. do also be prepared to haggle.
shenzhen itself is not that interesting otherwise. Because it is so new and because it is a city of transplants, you can tell there is not much unique culture. There are plenty of more fascinating places to explore in the PRD though; Guangzhou is a treasure