Shenzhen
China · Asia/Shanghai · UTC+8
Shenzhen is China's tech hub, home to Tencent, Huawei, and DJI, with a fast and informal startup culture.
Business hours & meeting culture
- Working hours
- 09:00–18:00, often longer in tech and finance
- Workweek
- Monday to Friday
- Culture
- Chinese business meetings often involve relationship-building before substantive discussion. Hierarchy matters — address the most senior person first. WeChat is the primary follow-up channel.
- Meeting tips
- Lunar New Year creates a 7–10 day national shutdown in late January or early February. National Day (October 1) triggers a Golden Week of similar length.
Travel & logistics context
Quick reference for business travelers — climate, currency, and language.Climate is city-specific. Currency and language are country-level.
Climate
Bordering Hong Kong; mild winters, hot humid summers, typhoon season Jul–Sep.
Currency
WeChat Pay / Alipay dominate; international cards work in major hotels but not everywhere.
Language
Limited English outside top hotels and global firms; translation apps essential.
🤝Business etiquette
- Greeting
- Light handshake; address by title and surname; senior person greeted first.
- Cards
- Two hands, Mandarin side up; study briefly before pocketing.
- Gifts
- Acceptable but modest; avoid clocks (funeral symbolism) and groups of four (homophone for 'death').
- Tipping
- Not expected outside high-end international hotels.
- Dress
- Conservative business; quality matters more than flash.
- Dining
- Toasts (gānbēi) common; pace yourself. Allow host to order; do not fill your own glass.
Time difference vs. major business cities
Computed for 2026. Daylight saving will shift these by an hour during transitions.
| City | Time zone | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 🇯🇵Tokyo | Asia/Tokyo | +1h |
| 🇮🇳Mumbai | Asia/Kolkata | -2h 30m |
| 🇦🇪Dubai | Asia/Dubai | -4h |
| 🇬🇧London | Europe/London | -7h |
| 🇺🇸New York | America/New_York | -12h |
| 🇦🇺Sydney | Australia/Sydney | +2h |
| 🇺🇸San Francisco | America/Los_Angeles | -15h |
| 🇨🇳Shanghai | Asia/Shanghai | Same time |
Public holidays in China, 2026
Commonly observed national holidays. Regional holidays and bridge days are not included. See also the global holiday calendar.
- 2026-01-01
- 2026-02-17
- 2026-05-01
- 2026-06-19
- 2026-09-25
- 2026-10-01
Plan a meeting with Shenzhen
Use the meeting planner to compare times across multiple cities, with weekend and holiday awareness.
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