Discover China

Over the past few days I’ve had the pleasure of attending the Shenzhen Open tennis tournament, where in a close battle yesterday China’s Grand Slam champion Li Na (at left) defeated Klara Zakopalova from the Czech Republic to take the singles title. The Shenzhen Open is a new addition to the annual WTA calendar in the lead-up to the Australian Open.

Many visitors to Shenzhen are familiar with Hongfa Temple in Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, the largest Buddhist temple in the city. James Baquet introduces some more in these Shenzhen Daily articles:

• Hongyuan Temple, Shiyan
• Longxing Temple, Longgang
• Houwang Temples

You can also see the previous news stories Two Shenzhen temples, Tianhou temples in Shenzhen, Two temples in Xili, Two temples in Dapeng and The difference between temples and halls?

One of Shenzhen’s hidden treasures is the large number of historic Hakka enclosed villages (or Hakka houses). James Baquet explores one of them in the Shenzhen Daily article Maosheng Residence, Henggang.

Did you know that the Shenzhen district of Longgang has about 100 historic walled Hakka villages? These fortified towns were built mainly in the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, and unlike the more famous round “tulou” of Fujian, the villages in Longgang are all built to square plans. To find out more read James Baquet’s Shenzhen Daily article Hakka Houses in Longgang.