One of my favorite places to visit in China is Shenzhen. Established in 1979, the small fishing village north of Hong Kong has turned into the beating heart of China’s technology scene, and nowhere is this more epitomized than in Huaqiangbei.
A district in Shenzhen, Huaqiangbei, has become the go-to destination for exploring the latest technology. However, it’s much more than this: it’s also where you’ll find the craziest and wildest range of technology devices, accessories, and components.
Want a cheap pair of AirPods Pro? It has you covered. An Apple Watch running Android? Also covered. A new screen at a fraction of the price your local phone repair shop charges? This is where to be.
As part of my trip to China, I just returned to Huaqiangbei for the first time in six years. I bought a range of products, including both inexpensive and official items, as well as others. Here’s a closer look at the craziest tech market in the world.
A melting pot of the best companies
It’s notable that every major smartphone company, as well as many non-smartphone companies, has a large presence in Huaqiangbei. Many of the former have multiple presences, as they each aim to outdo one another and sell their wares to every customer passing by.
Take Huawei, for example. There is a flagship Huawei store on the corner by a large mall, and several doors down in either direction, there are other official stores. Or Xiaomi, which has at least four stores that I could count within a 5-minute walk. This only accounts for two blocks of Huaqiang Road North, but the street extends much longer.
Then there’s DJI, which has at least three stores that I could see in the same radius. The same applies to Oppo and Vivo, although the former has less presence than the latter. Conspicuous in that it only has one store of note? Samsung, and its store is a regular-sized store, with Samsung less focused on this market than its competition.
What about Apple? There is at least one official store, as well as a multitude of smaller retailers that promote themselves as official resellers. This doesn’t account for the markets and stalls as well.
The third-party retailers
Once you move past the official stores, you’ll find a host of third-party retailers and resellers with stores facing directly onto the street. Instead of smaller, somewhat kosher retailers tucked away in the malls, these resellers are more akin to your neighborhood phone store than a market stall.
Here, you’ll find most phone brands under one roof, along with some great bargains. While the official stores have fixed prices – although they’ll still have deals and you can occasionally snag a discount – these resellers will test your bargaining power, at least within reason. If you’re looking for 30 %+ off the latest phone, you won’t find it here, but if you’re looking for a small discount on the newest gear or a bigger discount on older tech, this is where you should go.
Most of these resellers won’t have the latest phones within days, but rather within a month or two. Prices are negotiable, but unless you speak Mandarin, it’s advisable to have a translation app handy on your phone. You’ll also want to know the actual value and retail price of a gadget, especially as some of them will intentionally start at a higher price, and your purchase may not be the bargain you think it is.
By far the biggest presence in Huaqiangbei is the malls and markets. This is where you’ll find the gems and the duds that make this street and area the craziest market in the world.
The Huaqiangbei malls are a tech lover’s dream
If you’re like me and love gadgets, you’ll either need a sizable wallet or strong willpower. Failing either of those, you’ll end up buying far more than you expect, especially if it’s your first time in Huaqiangbei.
Walk into one of the many markets on Huaqiang Road North and you’ll find hundreds, if not thousands, of small stall owners with millions of products as far as the eye can see. This is where your used phones end up, and while there are many fake products – some of which are completely outrageous – many of them are genuine.
The majority of stalls are heavy with Apple products, and virtually every stall with mobile products has AirPods on display to tempt you to part with your money. Beyond Apple, foldable phones are also aplenty, and while you won’t find the very best folding phones, you will find many that are one or two generations old. These can be purchased at a considerably lower price than in a traditional retail store, and unlike other stores, negotiation is part of the experience.
Every stall has a calculator, and this is how you’ll communicate and agree on a price. Never accept the first price, but don’t expect to knock 50% off their price either. Some products are priced fairly low, so there’s little margin, but anything up to 15% could be considered reasonable and has a strong possibility of the vendor agreeing to a deal. There are some latest devices – both new and used – and you’ll save up to 20% off the retail price. For example, several stalls will happily sell you a new iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB for between $950 and $1,100, whereas it costs $1,300 from Apple.
Once you agree on a price, you’ll want Alipay or WeChat Pay ready to go; both apps are key to paying and accessing services in China, and both also accept foreign cards. There are transaction limits, and they’re secure; in fact, they’re so safe that my Alipay account was blocked when I tried to purchase a Xiaomi 15 Ultra in an official store, and I had to go through several appeal steps to be able to charge anything with Alipay.
These markets are a tech lover’s dream, but surprisingly, Huaqiangbei is more than just devices.
Looking beyond devices
Many of these stalls offer a wide range of products, from hairdryers to cables, and everything in between. Then there are entire markets dedicated to drones, gadgets, and other tech items that any tech enthusiast will likely fawn over. Some of these products are far too tempting, and it takes strong willpower to walk away.
These aren’t name brands, but they offer a similar experience; for example, several drones were nearly identical in appearance and functionality to those made by DJI, and these were listed for under 25% of the price of DJI-branded products.
China is a country that consumes a significant amount and a market where every company wants to establish a presence, not just tech companies. Opposite a string of shops selling tech, you’ll find stores for Gucci and other luxury retailers, and right next to them is a menswear shop that sells everything from t-shirts to suits.
There are also huge malls with five to ten floors dedicated to selling components for every device. If you’ve ever wanted to acquire all the parts and build a phone, this is where you’ll find them. If you’re looking for a supplier for your gadgets, this is where you can find them.
Huaqiangbei is vast, so you’ll likely never see it all. Across two visits spanning more than ten hours, I barely scratched the surface. Not only will it consume a significant amount of your time, but you can also quickly spend a substantial amount of money. As far as tech markets go, it’s one of the craziest, wildest, and most diverse places I’ve ever seen. Every alley also has lots of stalls, and a small doorfront can lead you to large malls hidden behind buildings. When you find a product you want at a price that you like, you should buy it; otherwise, you’ll spend countless hours trying to find the same vendor.
The variety of stalls and products is a testament to the overall impact of Shenzhen on the technology market. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to buy some more gadgets to take home with me.
