shenzhen running?

Where you are further out from the urban center traffic isn't so bad, but if you have never been to China it will seem chaotic at first. It will be more manageable once you understand the local driving behavior and traffic patterns. Locals tend not to run on roads, preferring laps in parks, the track, or the gym.

Humidity is an issue for some if you have never lived in this part of the country. A lot of people migrate indoors around this time of year.

Shenzhen is the best of the worst in terms of air quality among major Chinese cities. Major industry and manufacturing has steadily been moving further west so air quality has improved compared to a few years ago. You rarely see people running wearing masks as you will in cities like Beijing. That said, few days a month pm 2.5 readings will spike and more frequently too in the summer months.

There are very few well maintained, buffed out trails in China in general as locals prefer concrete steps and paved roads in the outdoors. There are dirt trails in the hills surrounding university town but most are unmarked and not well maintained. Depending on your running and visa situation, Hong Kong is a great weekend alternative as the trail system there is much more extensive and better maintained.

Welcome to Shenzhen!

bump.

thanks local. a follow-up question - any decent groups running there? maybe 15:30 5k/1:10 half, looking for folks to hit track with once a week and go longer on weekends with?

I'm not aware of any expats running those times in Shenzhen. The few I've met are pretty middling hobby joggers like myself (1:42/3:39).

You can ask around the local college teams for leads but even those guys are not running your times. For a city of 12 million, the fastest local at last year's Shenzhen Marathon was 2:32.

If you want to run with expats I think there are groups, though slow by your standards, based in the Nanshan/Shekou area.

How good is your Chinese?

There is a local group called Deep Experience that organize short, 10-20km trail races about once a month in the Wu Tong mountains east of downtown. There are a lot more trail and road races these days and you can probably find a few guys close enough to your times in the front pack.

51sai.com

zuicool.com

iranshao.com

Good events/races websites.

You can also try searching around Chinese running apps like thejoyrun.com. Sort of like the Chinese Strava.