Despite the rise of whisky, cocktails and craft beer, Shenzhen’s most popular tipple remains the cheap, lager-style beers popular all over China. Light and clean-tasting, they are designed to pair well with rich Chinese food. Most ubiquitous is Tsingtao (from Qingdao) and Blue Girl, a beer from Hong Kong.

China's vegetarian tradition goes back more than a millennium to the Taoist and Buddhist philosophers, including Confucius himself, who abstained from eating animals.

Many regional Chinese cooking styles are well represented in Shenzhen. Here are several to look out for.

Although this dish originates in China's tropical Hainan Province, it was a Shenzhen restaurant chain, Seasons Coconut Chicken, that helped make it famous around the world.