Many Hongkongers enjoy traveling north to eat, drink, and have fun, and this has become a must-do activity during their short weekend getaways. However, recently, mainland netizens compiled a list of Shenzhen travel itineraries beloved by Hongkongers, humorously stating that their routes are ‘pretty much the same’. They typically only visit four major malls in Futian, Luohu, and Nanshan districts and also compiled a list of their favorite types of restaurants and must-buy souvenirs. On seeing such accurate analysis, Hongkongers couldn’t help but admit, ‘That’s so true!’
Mainland netizens observed that every weekend, these ‘Hong Kong penny-pinchers’ would swarm into Shenzhen to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves. Their travel routes in Shenzhen are often ‘pretty much the same’. Their four most popular malls are ‘Jin Guanghua Mall in Luohu, Huangting Square or Cocopark in Futian, and MixC World in Nanshan’. They do this to experience the scale of the mainland’s large shopping malls, and also because Hongkongers tend to avoid the heat, preferring to stay indoors as much as possible.
Regarding restaurant choices, the post mentioned that Hongkongers ‘usually eat coconut chicken, grilled fish, hot pot, and dine in tea restaurants, then have a drink at HeyTea or Nayuki’. After satisfying their hunger and thirst, they might browse around the Mi Home store, then queue to buy Abalone Master before heading back to Hong Kong by subway. Regarding this compilation of ‘Hong Kong penny-pinchers’ activities and routes’ by mainland netizens, Hongkongers deeply related and repeatedly admitted, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems so true’, ‘It’s too real’, ‘Broke and reporting in, this was my itinerary the first time I visited the mainland’, ‘Isn’t this my route??’, ‘The Abalone Master at the end is highly credible’, ‘Indeed, I am one of these penny-pinchers’, ‘You missed foot massage’.
However, some Hong Kong netizens commented that Shenzhen’s consumption level has gradually caught up with Hong Kong’s, arguing that calling Hongkongers ‘penny-pinchers’ is unfair. Yet, more netizens view it as just a humorous nickname and advise not to take it too seriously. After all, it is entirely normal for residents of both places to visit each other for shopping, just as mainland visitors often come to Hong Kong’s Tuen Mun Town Plaza, New Town Plaza, Harbour City, etc. The most important thing is to respect local cultures and rules and not to disturb local residents.