<p>Shenzhen is the United Nation of China -- take the subway and in any car you will hear a dozen languages and dialects. The whole of China is represented there -- from Guangdong people, of course (not all of them being fluent in Cantonese, there's a whole bunch of Guangdong-born Hakka and Chaozhou people in Shenzhen) to neighboring Guangxi (lots of them in Shenzhen and Dongguan; they were the first to settle down in Shenzhen when the FEZ was opened. They speak a moderately intelligible dialect of Cantonese, good luck with that) to Fujian, Hunan, way up north (always funny to hear a taxi driver asking 去儿哪儿里儿?) and even Uyghur people... Nobody speaks Mandarin but everybody think they do :-)</p>

<p>Besides, how long do you have before your trip? A couple of years?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-27T19:23:17.310Z
I plan to be there for around a month. Part getaway, part touring factories while I gear up for future projects. I'm a huge computing and electronics nerd, and from the buzz I here, the electronics trade areas of Shenzhen dwarf even the legendary markets of Akihabara in Tokyo.
baudot
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-28T08:10:07.353Z
Huaqiang Bei in Shenzhen is indeed huge but I don't think it compares to Akihabara, really. First it's full of fakes and defective products (do not buy batteries there), and it's insanely dirty and polluted.
dda
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-27T16:10:44.610Z
2013-04-27T16:10:44.610Z
dda
<p>Shenzhen is in mainland China, so you should study Mandarin. However, it is so close to Hong Kong, and there is a lot of business between Hong Kong and Shenzhen if you know a bit of Cantonese, it will suffice also.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-27T14:47:18.740Z
2013-04-27T14:47:18.740Z
dayuloli
<p>I'm looking at travelling to Shenzhen for a month. Which dialect(s) should I study? For speaking with factory managers, workers, and for day to day life?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-30T05:44:23.247Z
Closed as too localized? Unlikely to help anyone? Nonsense, The question's already been viewed 400 times, in fewer days than that. Shenzhen is a destination for Makers and Manufacturers. Plenty of people visit that city and none other.
baudot
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-26T19:40:36.067Z
Short answer: Mandarin. Cantonese is very common as well, but Mandarin is pretty universal throughout the country.
Stumpy Joe Pete
<topolect>
Which dialect(s) to study before visiting Shenzhen?
# Which dialect(s) to study before visiting Shenzhen?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-04-26)

I'm looking at travelling to Shenzhen for a month. Which dialect(s) should I study? For speaking with factory managers, workers, and for day to day life?

**Tags:** topolect

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Short answer: Mandarin. Cantonese is very common as well, but Mandarin is pretty universal throughout the country.  
> **username_0**: Closed as too localized? Unlikely to help anyone? Nonsense, The question's already been viewed 400 times, in fewer days than that. Shenzhen is a destination for Makers and Manufacturers. Plenty of people visit that city and none other.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-04-27. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Shenzhen is the United Nation of China -- take the subway and in any car you will hear a dozen languages and dialects. The whole of China is represented there -- from Guangdong people, of course (not all of them being fluent in Cantonese, there's a whole bunch of Guangdong-born Hakka and Chaozhou people in Shenzhen) to neighboring Guangxi (lots of them in Shenzhen and Dongguan; they were the first to settle down in Shenzhen when the FEZ was opened. They speak a moderately intelligible dialect of Cantonese, good luck with that) to Fujian, Hunan, way up north (always funny to hear a taxi driver asking 去儿哪儿里儿?) and even Uyghur people... Nobody speaks Mandarin but everybody think they do :-)

Besides, how long do you have before your trip? A couple of years?

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I plan to be there for around a month. Part getaway, part touring factories while I gear up for future projects. I'm a huge computing and electronics nerd, and from the buzz I here, the electronics trade areas of Shenzhen dwarf even the legendary markets of Akihabara in Tokyo.  
> **username_2**: Huaqiang Bei in Shenzhen is indeed huge but I don't think it compares to Akihabara, really. First it's full of fakes and defective products (do not buy batteries there), and it's insanely dirty and polluted.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2013-04-27. Score: 2

Shenzhen is in mainland China, so you should study Mandarin. However, it is so close to Hong Kong, and there is a lot of business between Hong Kong and Shenzhen if you know a bit of Cantonese, it will suffice also.


---

