Luohu Commercial City
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Luohu Commercial City (simplified Chinese: 罗湖商业城; traditional Chinese: 羅湖商業成; pinyin: luóhúshāngyèchéng) is an enclosed shopping mall located on the Shenzhen side of the Shenzhen River, right outside the entrance/exit to Luohu Immigration Control Point.
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[edit] Shopping
The mall is six stories tall and sells a wide range of items, including watches, handbags, clothes, shoes, audio-visual products, souvenirs, curtains, DVDs, etc. The mall also includes a number of restaurants and shops that offer services, such as massages and dental work, at very low prices.
Luohu Commercial City is notorious in Hong Kong for its bargains, and many "one-day" visitors from Hong Kong venture no further into Shenzhen than the mall. Most of the items for sale in the mall, however, are either counterfeit or cheap Chinese replicas of designer brands, and the mall has a reputation for selling low-quality goods through high-pressure bargain tactics. Though the mall is a popular stop for tourists from Hong Kong, the majority of Shenzhen residents prefer to avoid it and shop elsewhere, such as Dongmen or Huaqiangbei Lu.
[edit] Crime
The popularity of Luohu Commercial City among tourists has also made it a center for illegal activities. The areas around the mall are known for being hotbeds for prostitution, drugs, and pickpocketing. Begging and homelessness are also pervasive, particularly around the bus and train stations.
Within the mall, scam artists are common. Data storage devices, such as USB flash drives, are often counterfeit with little or no storage capacity at all. Vendors selling pirated DVDs will sometimes lock the door on customers (so that police will not enter) and initiate high-pressure sales tactics while customers have no route of escape. Also, some shop owners have been known to strike great deals with customers and take their money, only to suddenly change their mind and give counterfeit money back (changed while the customer was not looking) before rendering the agreed upon goods/services. The most infamous of scams is the "teeth cleaning" scam. Customers seeking cheap teeth cleanings will have their teeth cleaned in a painful manner by muscular men in white coats. When the customer complains, they are given a choice: either continue with the treatment till the end or "upgrade" to a more expensive teeth cleaning service. Cases of customers refusing to upgrade are uncommon.[citation needed]
[edit] Transportation
[edit] Inter-city
The Luohu Inter-city Bus Terminal is located directly under Luohu Commercial Center, and buses to locations in Guangdong and Fujian provinces are available here. A shuttle to Shenzhen Airport is also available in the Bus Terminal. Shenzhen Railway Station is next to the mall and provides long-distance travel across China. Visitors with permission to enter Hong Kong may cross the border at the Immigration Control Point and take the East Rail Line as far as Tsim Sha Tsui.
[edit] Within Shenzhen
Located on the north side of Luohu Commercial Center is a bus station for intra-city buses and mini-buses. Immediately to the west is the Luohu Station of the Shenzhen Metro. Taxis are also available at a special taxi stand location below the intra-city bus station.
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