Luohu, Shenzhen

Please see Lo Wu article, which focuses the Hong Kong side.

transl. Lo Wu and zh:罗湖区

A view of Luohu Yanhe Nan Road, China

Luohu (simplified Chinese: 罗湖; traditional Chinese: 羅湖; pinyin: luóhú; Cantonese: lɔ4wu4) is one of the 6 districts of the Shenzhen City in Guangdong province of China. It is adjacent to Shenzhen River in the south, and is surrounded by Futian, Bao'an, Longgang and Yantian districts in Shenzhen. The opposite side of Shenzhen River is the Lo Wu area of Hong Kong.

The size of Luohu district is about 78.9 km² and contains 10 subdistricts.

Geography

Luohu is located in the heart of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone with Hong Kong bordering it on the south. The Luohu immigration control point, spanning the Shenzhen River between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, accounts for more border crossings than the other three Luohu crossing points - Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok - combined. Luohu is a financial and trading centre and covers an area of 78.89km².

It is also one of the six administrative districts of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Shenzhen City of the People's Republic of China.

Luohu has an uneven geography and contains a number of natural fresh water sources, including Donghu (东湖), Honghu (洪湖), and Xianhu (仙湖), among others. Shuiku (水库), or "Water Reservoir", is also located in Luohu and is an important source of water for both Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Shenzhen's highest peak, Wutong Mountain (944m) (梧桐山) is in Luohu District.

The disctrict's west boundary with Futian is Hongling Road, and its east boundary with Yantian is Wutong Mountain. The northern boundary is the end of the Special Economic Zone.

History

Luohu district was established in October 1979. It is the first district in Shenzhen City. Several hills were flattened to facilitate its infrastructure during initial construction phases. In November 1997, Yantian area became an independent administrative district.

Entertainment

Shopping

Sightseeing in Dongmen

Luohu is known in Hong Kong and Guangdong for shopping. Most one-day visitors from Hong Kong limit their shopping to Luohu Commercial City (罗湖商业城), located right outside the Luohu Immigration Control Point, but the areas of Dongmen (东门), Guomao (国贸), and Diwang (地王) are also important shopping districts.

Shenzhen and Luohu are infamous for the sale of cheap counterfeit goods. These goods, ranging from DVDs to designer items (e.g. Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Gucci, etc.) are mostly to be found in Luohu Commercial City or Dongmen, though prices here can be much higher than similar counterfeit items purchased in less popular parts of the city.

Nightlife

Luohu district is also known for its nightlife. Though most expatriates residing in Shenzhen live in Shekou, visitors to Shenzhen from Hong Kong and other places typically frequent bars, KTV (karaoke) lounges, and night clubs in the Luohu area.

The area is also known for harboring a large number of prostitutes and a drug trade. It is hard to determine exactly how large either of these illicit activities are, however, as reliable figures are not available.

Transportation

Guo Mao is one of Shenzhen Metro stations

Lao Jie station of the Shenzhen Metro

Trunk roads

• Shennan Dong Lu (深南东路)
• Dongmen Lu (东门路)
• Yanhe Lu (沿河路) and Chunfeng Lu flyover (春风路高架桥)
• Nigang Lu (泥岗路)
• Luosha Gonglu (罗沙公路)

Buses and minibuses

Buses and minibuses serve as popular means of transportation modes in Luohu.

Shenzhen Railway

Shenzhen Railway Station (深圳火车站) is located here. It serves as a terminal for train routes towards tens of cities in China.

Shenzhen Metro

There are 4 metro stations in Luohu district, namely, Luo Hu (羅湖), Guo Mao (国贸, Shenzhen World Trade Center), Lao Jie (老街) and Da Ju Yuan (大剧院, Shenzhen Grand Theater).

Crimes

Crimes ranging from homicide, robbery, mugging, as well as stealing are pervading in the Lo Wu District. The most popular two are child trafficking and counterfeit banknotes.

There are some child trafficking gangs in the district, abducting children aged from three to four from near crowded places like vegetable markets and supermarkets. The abductees will then be sold to various cities in Guangdong, mostly to the farmers there. It is alleged that the problem springs from China's one-child policy. It is a Chinese tradition that people would rather have a son than a daughter, so many families who have been unable to have a son, opt to buy one from traffickers. The kidnapped children are typically sold for between 1,000 to 10,000 yuan. In September 2003, police in south China smashed a child trafficking ring and rescued nine children. Nevertheless, the central government is still being criticized for not paying enough attention to this problem.

Apart from child trafficking, counterfeit banknotes is another serious problem in the district. Dongmen shopping district is alleged to be a black spot for passing fake notes to customers. Hong Kong shoppers are often the targets of the scam as they are less familiar with the features of yuan notes. Shop owners usually keep only a small amount of fake notes, which is insufficient for a successful prosecution. Even though an employee is caught red-handed, the shop owner will deny all knowledge and blame the individual. That's why it is quite difficult for the authorities to crack down this scam. In October 2003, about 40 shops in Dongmen shopping district have been shut after they were found passing counterfeit banknotes to customers.

In November, 2003, a '70-day storm operation against crimes' was launched in Lo Wu. It aimed at putting forward improvements in social order of the district.

Entertainment near the Lo Wu District

Shopping

However, shopping in Lo Wu has greatly affected the economy of Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong people earn money in Hong Kong from different sectors, they spend it there and the money will probably flow to mainland China. Gradually, the shops in Hong Kong will lose their market. The boom of retailing sector in Lo Wu may mean a blow to the already-depressed Hong Kong economy.

To be optimistic, as the people in China grow richer, the shops in Lo Wu may also gain a large sum of money from them. In this way, the money of two places flow in a two-way direction, that means money does not only flow out of Hong Kong. Shops in Hong Kong on the other hand attract mainlanders to spend money through the Individual Visit Scheme implemented recently.

It is understandable why shops in Hong Kong now accept the use of yuan. Mainlander is obviously one of their main market. Shop owners are willing to ease them by using a convenient currency exchange. Consequently, the shops in Lo Wu make a spark for mainland people to shop in Hong Kong. We hope that this spark will glow into a big fire to light up Hong Kong's economy.

Walking hand-in-hand with nature

As one can see, there are myriad types of entertainment in Luohu, shopping in the busy urban centre or doing sports in clubs located in suburban areas. But how about taking a rest in the quiet and beautiful suburb? If you are not so keen on sports and just want to relax in the tender embrace of suburban beauties, then, Luohu Forestry Orchard will be your best choice. The Orchard is found in 1986 and now under the direct leadership of the Council of Luohu District and Government of Luohu District. It is located by the beautiful lake of Xianhu, back against Xianhu arboretum.

Actually, it is an integrated enterprise majoring in lychee and longan and developing with flowers and vegetable industry. So, yielding fruits is the main income of the forestry orchard, with more than 2000 mu of litchi and longan of high quality. All the fruit trees entering the period of fertility have an annual turnout of 300,000 kg.

Apart from that, the forestry has strived toward the direction of urban ecological tourism with a full line of recreation and sports facilities in a quiet and ethereal environment.

Three kinds of activities

1. One can just enjoy the beautiful and relaxing atmosphere in the garden, wandering hand-in-hand with nature, smelling the sweet aroma of fresh flowers, couching under the shadow of trees, in short, dragging oneself out from the pressure of busy urban lives.
2. Can’t get enough? Not satisfied with just sitting and walking? Fortunately, there is also a green lake artificially built in the garden. Echoing with other beautiful fauna and flora in the garden, it accomplishes the formation of a perfect organic whole. One can just fish by the lake and enjoy this perfect beauty.
3. Moreover, another activity called "Farm of Yourself" help visitors experience the ancient way of life. It is based on the idea of ancient people building huts as their own homes and fencing fields as their gardens. In this activity, visitors can build their farms and grow whatever they like all by themselves. It is especially suitable for children as they can learn the value of labor through this interesting activity.

See also

• Shenzhen
• Lo Wu (Hong Kong side)

External links

• Luohu Government Online