Top 5 Abandoned Places in Shenzhen (Best Urbex Spots)

In this article, discover five essential locations selected from our Urbex China Map, which features over 500 abandoned places across China, carefully documented for unique and immersive explorations.

Urbex China in Shenzhen offers a uniquely raw urban exploration experience. Built from scratch in less than 40 years, Shenzhen is the fastest-growing city in human history — and its relentless transformation has left behind a trail of demolished villages, evacuated factory zones, and derelict structures swallowed by tropical vegetation. Here, abandonment is never far from the gleaming towers above it.

Why Shenzhen Is One of the Best Urbex Destinations in China

Shenzhen's urbex scene is defined by one force above all others: speed. The city has been reinventing itself so rapidly that entire neighborhoods disappear within months, industrial zones are cleared overnight, and urban villages that once housed hundreds of thousands of migrants are reduced to rubble between visits. For urban explorers, this creates both urgency and opportunity — sites that exist today may be gone tomorrow.

📍 All locations below are referenced on our Urbex China Map — GPS coordinates, access notes, condition ratings, and explorer reports included.

1. Baishizhou – Shenzhen's Most Iconic Urban Village (Known Location)

The most documented abandoned place in Shenzhen — and one of the most photographed urban decay sites in southern China. Baishizhou was Shenzhen's largest urban village: a labyrinthine 0.23 square mile neighbourhood of handshake buildings, street markets, and dense migrant community life, housing an estimated 150,000 residents. Demolition began in 2016, and sections have been progressively evacuated, stripped, and razed ever since — leaving a surreal patchwork of occupied streets next to completely hollowed-out blocks.

👉 Half-demolished alleys, abandoned food markets, bare concrete columns crowned with rebar, and the ghostly silence of streets that were teeming with life just months before.

👉 Story: Shenzhen's last major urban village on Shennan Road, Baishizhou became a symbol of the city's transformation. Water and electricity were cut to force residents out in 2018. Demolition continues to this day.

🔗 More on Baishizhou: Foreign Policy – The Twilight of Shenzhen's Great Urban Village

2. Shahe Industrial Park – Abandoned Factory Zone, Nanshan District (Known Location)

Directly adjacent to Baishizhou, the Shahe Industrial Park was one of Shenzhen's last surviving factory districts from the city's original manufacturing era. Entrepreneurs and residents were evicted in late 2017, water and electricity were cut in January 2018, and the vast complex was left to decay as demolition cycles began and stalled.

👉 Emptied factory floors still bearing the traces of light industry, wires dangling from stripped ceilings, and the eerie contrast of an industrial ruin surrounded by luxury residential towers on every side.

👉 Story: As Shenzhen repositioned itself as a tech and finance hub, its original factory identity was systematically demolished. Shahe was one of the last visible traces of the city that built the world's electronics.

🔗 More on Shahe: Made in China Journal – Two Decades of Shenzhen Urban Villages

3. The Abandoned Electronics Factory – Longhua District (Exclusive on our Map)

A derelict manufacturing facility in Shenzhen's Longhua District, left behind as the tech supply chain shifted and production costs pushed factories further inland.

👉 Assembly line infrastructure frozen mid-production, component bins scattered across factory floors, and tropical vegetation forcing its way through cracked skylights.

👉 Story: Shenzhen was the world's electronics factory for two decades. As wages rose and automation advanced, hundreds of facilities were vacated. This one sits intact between demolition cycles.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex China Map.

4. The Abandoned Residential Tower – Shenzhen Outskirts (Exclusive on our Map)

An unfinished residential complex on Shenzhen's expanding periphery, frozen mid-construction as developer financing collapsed.

👉 Raw concrete floors open to the subtropical sky, stairwells leading to nothing, and the sounds of the surrounding city amplified by the hollow structure.

👉 Story: China's property crisis hit Shenzhen's peripheral districts hard. Projects funded by debt and pre-sales collapsed before completion, leaving concrete shells scattered across the city's outskirts.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex China Map.

5. The Abandoned Village – Shenzhen Rural Fringe (Exclusive on our Map)

One of Shenzhen's original farming villages, bypassed by the city's expansion and left empty as its population relocated to urban centres decades ago.

👉 Traditional Hakka architecture slowly consumed by tropical vines, ancestral halls open to the rain, and vegetable plots reclaimed by jungle — a rare glimpse of the Shenzhen that existed before the Special Economic Zone.

👉 Story: Before 1980, Shenzhen was a collection of fishing and farming villages. A handful of original settlements survive on the city's fringes, swallowed by vegetation and forgotten by the skyline that replaced them.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex China Map.

Urbex China – Safety & Legal Reminder

Urban exploration in China carries specific risks. Trespassing is illegal, and security has increased significantly around abandoned structures in major cities. Always:

• Research each site thoroughly before visiting
• Explore with at least one other person
• Wear protective gear — mask, gloves, and sturdy boots
• Never force access or cause damage to any structure
• Respect the spaces and leave no trace

The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."

❓ FAQ – Urbex Shenzhen

Is urbex legal in Shenzhen?
Urban exploration is a legal grey area in China. Entering private or abandoned property without permission is technically trespassing. Shenzhen's rapid demolition cycles also mean sites can become active construction zones with little warning. Always research your site before visiting.

How do I get to Baishizhou from central Shenzhen?
Take Metro Line 1 to Baishizhou Station. The village and its partially demolished sections are walkable from the exit. Note that access varies significantly depending on which demolition phase is currently active.

What makes Shenzhen unique for urbex compared to other Chinese cities?
Shenzhen's sites change faster than anywhere else in China — a spot photographed six months ago may no longer exist. This creates urgency, but also means the city is constantly generating new abandoned places as demolition cycles stall or restart.

🎯 Conclusion

Shenzhen offers one of the most urgent and visually striking experiences in urbex China — a city where abandonment and construction happen simultaneously, where tropical vegetation reclaims sites within months, and where the ruins of the world's factory floor sit in the shadow of tech towers. Every abandoned place here is a snapshot of a transformation happening faster than anywhere else on earth.

Thanks to our Urbex China Map, you get access to over 500 unique locations for a safe and immersive exploration experience — with GPS coordinates, access ratings, photos, and explorer reports for every spot.

🗺️ Explore the full Urbex China Map →