I am visiting Shenzhen for a week on business. What do I need?

Before you fly

• Get the right visa. M for commercial activity, F for exchange and study visits.
• Install Alipay or WeChat and add your card. Both accept foreign Visa and Mastercard, and setting it up at home on a good connection is far easier than in an airport queue.
• Screenshot your hotel address in Chinese characters. Show it to a driver; reading it aloud will not work.
• Tell people how to reach you. WhatsApp will not work when you land.

When you arrive

Buy a SIM at the airport if you can, because a Chinese number unlocks parts of the payment apps that a foreign number cannot reach. Your hotel registers you with the police at check-in; ask them to confirm they have done it.

Getting to the factories

Most manufacturing sits in Bao’an, Longgang and across the boundary in Dongguan. Give yourself much more time than the map suggests: an hour across the city is normal and two in the evening peak is not unusual. Book a Didi rather than assuming a taxi will be waiting outside an industrial estate.

Huaqiangbei

The electronics and components market in Futian, and the reason a lot of people come to Shenzhen at all. Calling it a shop undersells it: there are several buildings of stalls stacked floor on floor, and a first visit goes far better with someone who has been before. Some NIS members do this professionally, so ask around before you go.

Paying suppliers

Never pay a new supplier in full up front, and do not pay into a personal account when the quote came from a company. Get the specification in writing and photograph the sample next to something for scale. Every experienced buyer here will tell you the same thing, usually while describing the order that taught them.