Tag Archives: Shenzhen

Finding a guitar in Shenzhen, China

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Buying a new guitar in Shenzhen is not so easy as it might seem. Even though Shenzhen is one of the biggest cities in China it does not have a decent selection of guitar or music shops. There are two important places one should visit if you want to check or buy electric or acoustic guitars:

1. Shang bu lu. Right across the Shang Bu building. Exit A of Ke Xue Guan metro station. Music mall 3rd and 4th floor.

In these two floors you can find some acoustic guitar shops. The mainly sell Chinese brands and in the 4th floor there is an store selling electric and acoustic guitars in a single spot. In this store you may find pedals, some small amplifiers, cables, straps and related products. They mainly sell Strats, Squiers, Telecasters, and Epiphones. Their acoustic guitar selection is not so wide but they usually have sales for guitars that have been hanging on the wall for long time. They have a small recording/practice studio in the store that can be rented hourly and also have some guitar instructors if needed. The sales staff speak English, this is perfect because you can communicate without having to bring a Translator. They have a good selection of Joyo pedals. They do not sell pedal boards but do sell the power supplies and cables if you want to go DIY.

2. Sendy Music. In front of the SZ university south gate. You can take the 113 bus in Shennan road and it will drop you in front of the store.

This store is more professional and they even have tech support for your guitars. They sell small and mid range amps. I saw some Orange, Yamaha, Fender and Marshall amps. They sell American Tele and Starts. They have also Saga and Martin acoustic guitar at good prices. This store have Digitech, Boss, Joyo and Ibanez pedals at good prices and you can sit and ask the staff to help you check them one by one. They have some Ibanez and BC Rich guitars but I am not sure if the are made in The US. (Not too familiar with them) they also have some practice rooms for one to one lessons. The owner speaks English and is really thoughtful and friendly.

Both places are the biggest and best places to get your gear here in Shenzhen. You can find some smaller places but they lack the variety and quality one might be looking for.

Hope this info helps for those who want to explore and get some guitar gears.

Noon Coffee in China

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12:45 pm at a Starbucks in Shenzhen China is a scene hard to believe, here in the land of the “tea” hundreds line up to get a cup of coffee at around 25 rmb (4 US$) . The logical conclusion is that everybody likes to feel “cool” , is not the coffee, it is the status and the opportunity to look different amongst millions who just have the same 4 US$ to have a decent lunch.

Good thing: Hundreds of people get the chance to feel good and have a nice break from the daily routine.

Bad thing: The gap between middle and and low class gets bigger and someday it might blow on people’s faces.

Not good not bad: In 2 years perhaps we will drink coffee at a regular chinese restaurant.

Blackberry Service in Shenzhen , China .

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I have been using Blackberry service in Shenzhen since 2009. I first made a contract with China Mobile using BES (Blackberry Enterprise Service) , I had to spend a year paying over 1000 RMB (150 US$) realizing that the service was not worth it, I cancelled it when the year was over and spent around 3 months waiting so see if China Unicom would come up with Blackberry Service.

And so it was, China Unicom opened up Blackberry (BIS) service in July 01st 2011 . After struggling a while with the service staff over the application for this service I can give you a small list of details for you to open up a Blackberry Internet Service in China Unicom :

1. You need a 3G SIM Card.It means if you do not have it you need to change your phone number, they usually start with the prefix 186 . It is around 200 RMB,

2. You need to apply for Blackberry service. the Best plan is 98 RMB every month. they give you around 150 mb per month.

3. Need to go to a China Unicom service centre, the authorized resellers are not authorized to apply for this plan.

4. If you do not have a Blackberry Smartphone that supports 3G , it does not matter, buy the SIM card anyway, you will be connected with EDGE by default. I checked with a 8520 .

5. after you are set, you need to register at :  chinaunicom.blackberry.com  to create your BIS Account. Before registering restart your handset, if you do not see EDGE or Blackberry symbol next to the 3G you need to go to your host table setting and request for your device registration with the system, it’s not to common but it can happen. Your device will notify you about this and give you the exact instructions.

6. when you have registered your BIS account you are ready to go….

I usually pay around 200 RMB every month and service is stable within the city limits.