At 3 p.m., 22-year-old Chinese tourist Wang Li held up her phone, adjusting the angle in front of a photo spot under the lights of Huaqiangbei Electronics World, ready to take her first photo to commemorate her visit.
Not far away, a buyer from India was using a translation device to bargain with a shopkeeper, having just purchased six drone devices in one go from that store.
Scenes like these play out every day in Huaqiangbei. This area, located in Futian, Shenzhen, is transforming into an international «borderless neighborhood.»
Once known as «China’s No.1 Electronics Street,» this specialized market is quietly undergoing an identity shift. It is no longer just a trading ground for merchants and buyers; it has also become a trendy landmark for younger generations, particularly those born after 2000, to chase the latest tech, and a must-visit spot for foreigners to experience «Made with Chinese Ingenuity.»
The latest official data shows that in the first half of 2025, the average daily foot traffic in the Huaqiangbei commercial area reached 750,000 people, a 50% increase compared to the previous year. Among them, the average daily number of foreign visitors exceeded 7,000, doubling year-on-year.
What has enabled a specialized market to break through its traditional boundaries and attract these two seemingly unrelated groups to visit in droves?
Tangible Tech Appeal
«I used to think Huaqiangbei was a place where my parents bought computer parts, but after coming here, I found it’s a ‘treasure trove for photo ops.'»
Wang Li’s phone album holds nearly 20 photos from Huaqiangbei: pictures taken under the giant sign of Huaqiangbei Electronics World, hunting for the latest wireless earbuds in the comprehensive electronics market, trying out the newest AR glasses in the shopping area’s lighted corridor.
After she posted her guide «Huaqiangbei Guide to 7 Major Markets» on Xiaohongshu, the comments section was filled with requests for similar itineraries.
Today, alongside the traditional buyers, a significant portion of Huaqiangbei’s main consumer base consists of those born after 2000, 2010, and even 2015. Growing up in the internet era, their consumption preferences differ greatly from those born in the 60s and 70s—they are less focused on major 3C products like mobile phones, computers, and cameras, and instead favor all kinds of novel «gadgets.»
For them, Huaqiangbei’s appeal lies in its «tangible tech appeal.»
Unlike online shopping where you can only look at specifications, every smart device here can be tried out immediately. In the smart office section, you can wear translation earbuds to simulate a «cross-border conversation»; at wearable device stalls, you can test a smartwatch’s heart rate monitoring function on the spot. «Watching reviews online always felt unreal. Trying things out here with my own hands lets me know which product really suits me best,» said Lin Miaomiao, born after 2000. She recommends Huaqiangbei «exploration guides» to her colleagues and has already bought three smart gadgets: wireless earbuds, a portable power bank, and a Bluetooth speaker.
A merchant who has been operating in Huaqiangbei for many years noted that the area is not only home to sales vendors but also a cluster of companies related to the consumer electronics industry chain. They might finalize a design in the morning, produce a prototype in the afternoon, and send it to the factory for mass production the next day. This highly efficient innovation cycle gives the commercial area a core competitive edge in the field of small electronic goods.
Besides the younger demographic, foreigners also consider Huaqiangbei a must-visit spot in Shenzhen.
«When I came to Huaqiangbei, I felt like I walked into a technology museum,» said the aforementioned Indian buyer, who was visiting Shenzhen for the first time. This trip was not only for procuring drones for his company but also as a travel destination. He mentioned that he has already recommended Shenzhen to his family and hopes to bring them along on a future trip.
