Meeting Point

Meet at Shenzhen University Station, Exit A3

Driverless taxi to Shenzhen Bay

No warm-up: the first thing we do is get into a car with nobody in the driver's seat. The wheel turns itself, the sensors watch the traffic, and we cross Nanshan in about fifteen minutes. Everyone films this part — you'll want a window seat.

INNO100

Ground floor of the north hall: the first authorised offline store in China for Kickstarter, with more than a hundred brands from around the world. Nothing is behind glass. Strap on an exoskeleton, put on AI glasses that translate in real time, ask a robot to dance. Most of it you can't buy at home yet.

Shenzhen Bay Culture Square

A 188,000-square-metre cultural complex by architect Ma Yansong. From the outside it reads as a white landscape; inside it feels like a cave carved out for people. We walk the atrium, the terraces and the roof — every one of them a photo — and look at whatever exhibition is running. Ten minutes in, you'll understand why locals come here just to photograph the ceiling.

3D printing

A hands-on stop: you draw something small on a tablet, we send it to the printer, and you watch the layers build up in real time. If your design needs longer, we pick it up on the way back to the mall — the route passes the door.

Talent Park: coffee from the sky

The moment we arrive, I place the order. A few minutes later a drone lands at a locker by the lake with your drink — the park is served from a kilometre away, and the flight takes less time than the queue at a café. Next to it, a robot pulls espresso, two minutes a cup. Then the skyline: the 392-metre Spring Bamboo Shoot, the dome of the Spring Cocoon, and a cube-shaped headquarters wrapped in LED screens.

Walk to the MixC

Tour ends at the MixC

Lunch, shopping and the rest of the afternoon are all right here. Houhai Station is underneath the mall.

Ending Point

MixC