Shenzhen and Chinese new year

[hidden12345]

Here's the deal. I have a month or so off before accepting a new expat position in South China. I am free to vacate my US spot Feb 01, 2008 and dont have to show up for the China job until mid March, so I want to get situated and comfy all on my lonesome in Shenzhen (the job post isnt there however).

I'm not looking for permanent residence in Shenzhen but it would great if I could work out some sort of a one-month temp. rental in someplace nice. However I have one key concern:

Chinese new year.

Chinese new year is Feb 07 2008. How is that gonna to affect everything? I've never been to China during the new year, and i want to know how exactly that is going to affect me in being able to find a decent place to live for a month in Shenzhen, as I've heard everything just sort of earily shuts down. Am I cutting it too close by moving there just a few days before the holiday? I'll be showing up with a big suitcase or two (books and clothes) but no furniture. Again I can't arrive until a four or five days after the 1st of February. Any recommendations?

thanks in advance-

[lilongyue]

That isn't a good time to come and start looking for a house, honestly. Everthing but restaurants, bars and hotels close. It's also a long holiday, about two weeks.

Everyone goes back to their home provinces during the Chinese New Year. I haven't been to Shenzhen, but from what I've heard it's like any other big Chinese city - most of the people living there are from other areas. So, you can expect the city to be relatively deserted by Chinese standards. However, if this is your first time in China it probably won't seem deserted to you. Prices of anything related to travel also skyrocket, including hotels. I suggest you start looking for a place to stay during the New Year now, and make sure to ask what their rates will be during the New Year. They will probably go up a lot. If you can't find anything suitable, you can always go to Hong Kong and find a cheap hostel or guest house to wait out the New Year in.

The actual vacation for the Chinese New year begins in the end of January. If Feb. 7th is New Year's day, the eveyone needs the time to get out to their home towns before that day. New Year's day is the most important day of the holiday. Since people flood into cities like Shenzhen from every conceiveable corner of China, and most people will be travelling by train to get back home, they need a lot of time before the 1st day of the new year to arrive, as well as time to get back to their jobs.

Anyone know the exact dates of the New years vacation?

[roddy]

One idea might be to look to sublet a place from someone leaving for the holiday - students and teachers will have a long New Year holiday, if you can find the right match it might work out well.

[hidden12345]

Roddy- i was actually thinking something along the lines of a sublet as way to use the new year towards my advantage.

Couple more questions: I want to get a couple of suits made in Shenzhen, will the new year holiday slow this up, or will there in all likelihood be a few tailors around looking to catch some business?

Also, the crime in Shenzhen. EVERY chinese i've casually asked opinions about Shenzhen, has all mentioned the pickpockets and thieves. Is it really this exaggerated, or this just another typical display of the chinese trait of ridiculous over-generalization? (I suppose that last sentence in and of itself is guilty of over-generalization as well, but hey all those years of studying chinese rubbed off in more ways than purely linguistically..)

[cdn_in_bj]

Also, the crime in Shenzhen. EVERY chinese i've casually asked opinions about Shenzhen, has all mentioned the pickpockets and thieves. Is it really this exaggerated, or this just another typical display of the chinese trait of ridiculous over-generalization?

That is definitely the perception up here in the north. I've heard stories of cellphones, even watches being snatched by thieves on foot or bicycle. Of course, there are pickpockets here here too, so who knows. But people here do view things as being more 乱 down in the south.

[johnd]

I'd say it's more on the ridiculous over-generalization. I never felt unsafe in Shenzhen, just use some common sense. Don't put your wallet in you back pocket, and don't wear your mobile phone one your belt in one of those "please steal me" pouches.