Chris Edwards

WHEN you’re looking for somewhere to go that isn’t Shekou, when asked “can you feel it baby?” — there is only one answer: “Yes, I can, too.” Futian District makes you come on and swing it with the best of them. If you spend long enough in Futian, you will arrive at the pay-off, just like I did before too long. 

When they say that Futian is a place with such good vibrations and such sweet sensations, they can only be talking about the bar streets around Coco Park. Personal favorites of mine are La Casa and McCawleys, but if you’re the type of person that wants to bring forth the rhythm and the rhyme, that wants to see sweat coming out their pores, then clubs like Club Viva and Demon Bar are the place to be. These are just four places in an area where you can see people from all over the world — black, white, red, brown — and they’re feeling the vibration.

In a residential area like Futian, you need to be able to do your shopping, and it’s not just good like Sunkist — it’s great like Marky Mark and I’m here to move you in the right direction. My personal favorite place is the Butcher Shop for all my meat needs — the English-speaking staff may not have rhymes that will groove you, but their meat products will prove to you that you can party on the positive side with your friends. I’m also a fan of AEON (formerly JUSCO) in Coco Park, where the positive vibes are pumped out by being one of the only major supermarkets I’ve found in China that takes VISA or MasterCard.

If you’ve come along for the ride so far, you can see that making you feel the rhythm is my occupation in this article.

However, if you’re sick of feeling the vibrations of Shenzhen Metro, then I highly recommend a trip to one of the numerous open spaces in Futian. I hope I don’t have your back up, because there’s no crack-up in the huge space near Shenzhen Book City CBD Store. There’s no need for speed here, as there is always a relaxed atmosphere on weekends and at night. The rhymes of the numerous street performers are making them wealthy, along with the funky bunch of cartoonists helping to bring a show with no intoxication. Don’t forget to check out Honey Lake Country Club, where there is a fantastic golf course as well — I still need to find a parent to fund my trip there one day.

Are you coming along with why I love Futian, why I feel the vibration of this district?

Of course, now the time has come for you to get up and explore Futian yourself. While I have concentrated this piece on a small area, the rest of Futian will have you fed up, but I won’t let up. Further east from Coco Park is Huaqiangbei — home to some of the best electronic markets in all of China, as well as some well-priced fashion outlets for men and women. The station at Science Museum has a surprising rhythm and rhyme designed to make your behind move with its musical instrument market. For those who are into pure hip-hop, there are no sell-outs around the collection of nightclubs that specialize in the hip-hop scene — I’ve even known friends of mine who were in it to win rap battles there.

Futian is a place that wants to see motivation, and nothing screams motivation like Children’s Palace. The dedication of the staff there shows that the future of the district of Futian lies with its children, who are coming on in leaps and bounds with the influences of the large expatriate population throughout Shenzhen, who have now felt the vibration of the People’s Republic of China.

So what do I love about Futian? I think American hip-hop artist Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch said it best in 1991.

“It’s such a good vibration

Come on, come on, come on

It’s such a sweet sensation

Feel it, feel it.”

The author is a 32-year-old Australian who teaches English in Bao’an District and ventures into Futian far more often than is healthy.Chris Edwards