Spontaneous Hikes

Greetings from Shenzhen! A new city—occasionally, eerily so—with a lot to spark your curiosity.

This evening I exercised that immense freedom of movement that I am so fortunate to have this year. At 5pm, I decided to go for a hike. Granted, it was part power walk, part running, in an effort to stress-test by new shoes and trail racing technique on stairs. Nevertheless, by 6pm, I was at the top, with sweeping sunset views to show for it!

I rarely (if ever?) include my own photos here, but I’ll share one tonight:

Pretty nice position. Shenzhen, like close neighbour Hong Kong, is extremely hike-able. Lots of green peaks weaving throughout the cityscape. Everything seems to happen many stories above ground here.

That being said, I think the landscape separates itself here compared to, say, Beijing, because of the design underneath all of the same mammoth housing towers. An overarching layer of foliage shields you from what may indeed still be many lanes of cars, but doesn’t quite feel as much like it. Dedicated walking paths are colourful and tree-lined, often flowing into well-constructed overpasses the blend in nicely.

Anyway, yes, hiking! I really love being able to pull up AllTrails, find a walk within a kilometre of our inn, and just start. An absolute luxury. Glad I did, too. As so often occurs, getting out in nature felt transformative. Perhaps amplified by the contrasting absence of a window in a accommodation.