Shenzhen skyline at twilight
Shenzhen does not feel like a city that is catching up with the future. It feels like a city that got there first and is waiting for everyone else to arrive. Driverless taxis cruise the streets of Nanshan. Drones drop coffee orders from the sky. Robots deliver room service in hotels without a single human involved. The entire bus fleet has been electric for nearly a decade. For expats living in Hong Kong, all of this is sitting just 15 minutes across the border, and most of them have no idea.
This guide breaks down exactly what makes Shenzhen feel like it belongs in 2035, and how you can experience it yourself on a day trip from Hong Kong.
From Fishing Village to the World’s Tech Laboratory
Forty years ago, Shenzhen was a fishing village of around 30,000 people. Today it is a megacity of over 18 million residents and one of the most economically productive cities on the planet. It is home to some of the biggest technology companies in the world: BYD (the largest electric vehicle maker), Huawei (telecommunications and consumer electronics), Tencent (which built WeChat, the app that runs daily life in China), and DJI (the world’s dominant consumer drone manufacturer).
In 2025, the city’s core AI industry alone generated approximately 220 billion yuan in revenue, and the municipal government has committed a 10 billion yuan AI and robotics industry fund to keep the momentum going. With more than 51,100 robotics-related enterprises registered in the city, Shenzhen is not just adopting the future. It is building it.
Every Bus and Taxi Is Electric
Shenzhen became the first city in the world to fully electrify its bus fleet back in 2017. All 16,359 public buses run on battery power, supported by 510 charging stations with 8,000 charging points across the city. The fleet is larger than the electric bus fleets of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Toronto combined.
The city followed up by converting its entire taxi fleet to electric as well, with more than 22,000 electric taxis now on the road. The practical result for visitors is striking: Shenzhen’s streets are noticeably quieter than those of any comparable megacity. There is no diesel rumble, no black exhaust. The difference is something you feel physically within minutes of arriving.
Robotaxis You Can Hail from Your Phone
Shenzhen is one of the leading cities in the world for commercial robotaxi services. Pony.ai operates across roughly 1,500 pickup and dropoff points in key districts including Nanshan, Bao’an, and Qianhai, with fully driverless vehicles that have no safety operator behind the wheel.
In February 2026, Pony.ai announced that its robotaxi fleet had achieved monthly per-vehicle profitability in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, a milestone that signals this is no longer a subsidised experiment but a viable commercial service. Passengers can book rides through the Pony.ai app or a WeChat mini-program. The experience is smooth, slightly surreal, and surprisingly affordable, with fares comparable to regular ride-hailing services.
The Qianhai district has also launched a fleet of 20 autonomous minibuses with L4 self-driving capability, equipped with high-precision cameras, millimeter-wave radar, and laser radar. These buses handle lane changes, traffic signals, and complex urban intersections without human intervention.
Drone Delivery Is Already Routine
While most cities in the world are still debating regulations for commercial drone delivery, Shenzhen has moved past the debate entirely. The city now operates over 306 UAV logistics routes, and in the first three quarters of 2025, drones completed approximately 630,000 deliveries across the city.
The experience for consumers is genuinely futuristic. You can order a coffee or a meal on your phone, and within minutes a drone flies it to a designated landing kiosk near your location. You scan a code, a compartment opens, and your order is there. Meituan, China’s largest food delivery platform, has been at the forefront of this, with drone delivery becoming a routine part of its Shenzhen operations.
It helps that Shenzhen is the hometown of DJI, the company that manufactures roughly 70% of the world’s commercial drones. The local expertise in drone technology has given the city a natural head start in integrating UAVs into everyday urban life.
Sidewalk Robots and Airport Bumblebees
Drone delivery is only one layer of Shenzhen’s autonomous logistics network. At street level, small autonomous delivery robots have become a common sight on sidewalks and in commercial districts. Neolix, one of the leading autonomous vehicle companies, has deployed over 10,000 Level 4 self-driving delivery vehicles across China, with Shenzhen as a major hub. These compact vehicles navigate pedestrian areas, deliver packages, and even serve as mobile vending machines.
At Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, Meituan launched China’s first autonomous food delivery robot service. The robots, nicknamed “Little Bumblebee,” navigate the terminal independently, delivering orders from 11 participating merchants including Starbucks, KFC, and HEYTEA directly to passengers at their boarding gates. You order on your phone, and a cheerful little robot rolls up to you with your latte.
Shenzhen has also piloted what may be the world’s first subway delivery service, with autonomous robots navigating metro stations to deliver snacks and drinks to shops within the network. Autonomous street cleaning vehicles round out the picture, quietly maintaining the city’s roads without a driver in sight.
Air Taxis Are Taking Off
If electric buses and robotaxis represent the present, air taxis represent the near future that Shenzhen is actively building. EHang, a Guangzhou-based company with deep ties to the Greater Bay Area, received the world’s first type certificate for a pilotless passenger-carrying electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), the EH216-S.
Shenzhen is positioning itself as a global centre for the “low-altitude economy,” a term the Chinese government uses for the commercial ecosystem of drones, air taxis, and other aircraft operating below traditional aviation altitudes. The city is planning over 1,200 vertiports to support this new transport layer, and cross-border air taxi trials between Shenzhen and Hong Kong have already taken place.
AutoFlight, another Chinese eVTOL company, has completed trans-oceanic cargo flights from Shenzhen, demonstrating the technology’s readiness for real-world logistics. While regular air taxi commuting is still a few years away from becoming routine, Shenzhen is further along in making it happen than virtually any other city on earth.
Humanoid Robots Walk the Streets
Shenzhen’s relationship with robots extends well beyond delivery and transport. Humanoid robots now assist with security screening at metro stations, working alongside staff to scan bags and manage passenger flow. Robot units patrol certain streets alongside police officers, equipped with cameras and sensors for surveillance and crowd monitoring.
X Square Robot launched China’s first home cleaning robot capable of organising belongings and cleaning surfaces, an early sign of household robotics moving beyond the Roomba era. The city has established China’s first AI Bureau, a dedicated government body overseeing artificial intelligence policy and development, and has even deployed an AI-powered judicial model in the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court.
With over 51,100 robotics-related enterprises in the city, Shenzhen has more robot companies per square kilometre than arguably anywhere else on earth. Robots are not a novelty here. They are infrastructure.
Hotel Robots Deliver to Your Room
One of the most immediately striking experiences for first-time visitors to Shenzhen, and indeed most major Chinese cities, is the hotel delivery robot. In the majority of hotels, from budget chains to five-star properties, calling the front desk for extra towels, bottled water, or a late-night snack means a robot will ride the elevator to your floor, navigate the corridor, and call your room phone when it arrives at your door.
You open the door, lift the lid of the robot’s compartment, take your items, and the robot trundles off to its next delivery. The entire interaction involves zero human contact. Some hotels also station robot concierges in the lobby that can answer basic questions, provide directions, and check guests in.
For visitors coming from Hong Kong or anywhere in the West, this is often the single moment that drives home just how different the tech landscape is on the mainland. It is not a gimmick or a one-off installation. It is standard operating procedure across thousands of hotels, and guests barely give the robots a second glance.
A City That Runs on QR Codes
Cash has effectively disappeared from daily life in Shenzhen. WeChat Pay and Alipay handle everything from restaurant bills and taxi fares to wet market purchases and street food. Vendors at even the smallest market stalls have a printed QR code taped to their counter, and the transaction takes roughly two seconds: scan, confirm, done.
For foreign visitors, this used to be a barrier. Until recently, WeChat Pay and Alipay required a Chinese bank account. That has changed. Both platforms now allow international users to link Visa, Mastercard, or other international cards directly, with single transaction limits raised to approximately $5,000 USD. Setting this up before crossing the border from Hong Kong is strongly recommended, as it transforms the entire Shenzhen experience from fumbling with cash to seamless tap-and-go.
Smart Factories and AI Hospitals
The futuristic feel of Shenzhen is not limited to consumer-facing technology. The city’s factories and hospitals are being transformed by AI at a pace that is difficult to overstate.
BYD has deployed AI visual inspection systems on its battery production lines that achieve 99.8% accuracy in detecting defects, replacing what was previously a manual and error-prone process. Honor’s Pingshan smart factory, classified as a Level 4 intelligent facility, produces one smartphone every 28.5 seconds. AI reduced the design cycle for its foldable phone hinge from six months to two months.
In healthcare, 30 of Shenzhen’s top-tier hospitals have deployed AI large language models that have assisted in diagnosing over 100,000 complex medical cases. The Shenzhen Bay Laboratory has developed a brain-wave screening technology capable of detecting early signals of Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms appear. These are not pilot programmes announced at tech conferences. They are operational systems processing real patients and real products every day.
How to Experience It Yourself from Hong Kong
The best part of Shenzhen’s future-city status for Hong Kong expats is how accessible it is. The border is a short MTR ride away, and you can be in central Shenzhen within 15 to 20 minutes of crossing.
Here is a practical checklist for a Shenzhen tech day trip:
Set up WeChat Pay with your international card before you go. This is the single most important preparation step.
Cross at Futian Port (fastest, direct MTR connection) or Luohu Port (connects to Shenzhen’s commercial districts). Both are straightforward with an e-Channel or manual immigration.
Book a Pony.ai robotaxi through the app or WeChat mini-program. Rides are available across Nanshan, Qianhai, and Bao’an. The fare is comparable to a regular DiDi ride.
Order a drone-delivered coffee at a Meituan kiosk. Several locations in Nanshan and Futian have active drone delivery landing pads.
Visit Huaqiangbei, the world’s largest electronics market, to see the sheer scale of hardware innovation happening in Shenzhen.
Stay overnight at a hotel with robot delivery service. Most mid-range and above hotels in Futian and Nanshan districts have them. Order room service and let the robot do the rest.
Organised tech tours are also available, typically running 4 to 5 hours and covering robotaxi rides, drone delivery demonstrations, and visits to flagship tech stores. Prices generally range from HK$500 to HK$800.
Read More
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