Once you have found an apartment you like here, there are usually negotiations that happen involving the rent. In our case this did not happen but we did have a list of items that we wanted in the apartment and asked the landlord to purchase for us. These included a washer and dryer, TVs, dressers, desks, a safe, water cooler, lamps and most importantly, western mattresses because Chinese mattresses are extremely hard. Fortunately our landlord was very accommodating and most of the things he would have had to buy anyway. I was told to send the landlord pictures of what I wanted for furniture and he would get it for me. Well isn’t that what every girl wants to hear? Unfortunately for me, I had no idea where to go to look for furniture so I found some pictures on the internet to give him a general idea of what I thought would work. And as luck would have it, while we were at IKEA, we found the western furniture stores and I took some pictures of things I liked and our landlord got them for us.
Again, everything here is a process and getting things done here takes time so we had to wait for the apartment to get fully outfitted. We were also up against Chinese New Year where everything shuts down for two to three weeks so everyone was trying hard to get everything done so we could move in before then. Finally, after dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s it was moving day! James, our relocation guy, had secured us a moving van and we were packed up and ready! More than ready actually after two months in the hotel.
It just fit! After a ten minute car ride we arrived at our new place. It is one of the newest apartment buildings in Shekou and it does not disappoint. We live on the 18th floor of a 51 storey building.
Welcome to our Shenzhen home!
At our front door you get in by using the keypad, your thumbprint or the old fashioned way with a key.
The front entrance, well the only entrance I guess. The video panel is the doorbell where the security guard rings you up to let you know if someone is delivering something or company is coming. They let them into the complex and then there is another set of secure doors people have to come through to get to the elevators. The security guards do not speak English so it’s always a hit or miss with communication. Most of the time it is good and learning some basic Chinese words helps your cause immensely.
The galley kitchen with a wok ring, two burner ceramic surface element and two gas burners. Across the way is the microwave, complete with a dumpling button, toaster and kettle at the only outlet in the kitchen. There is also a concealed dishwasher to the right of the sink.
Our new rice cooker compliments of Holly and Cameron that they brought from Japan. Japan makes rice cookers specifically for the Chinese market and are better quality than what you can get here. It plays a little tune when you start it and when it’s finished. It was also Chinese New Year and it is considered good luck to buy a new bag of rice.
Just outside the kitchen there is a mini balcony where the washing machine is located. Yes outside! The gold thing is a clothes drying rack that raises and lowers with a remote control. Yes remote control! And across the way…are the neighbours!
Also out on the mini balcony is the ‘ayi’ room where the dryer is located. The dryer is not vented outside and it has a condensing unit which means we have to drain the water out of it when your laundry is dry. Well, things are never really dry here but we are lucky to have one. An ayi is a Chinese maid and this would be her room if she were to live-in. The room is 6 1/2 ft by 6 1/2 ft so about 42 square feet or 4 metres square. Attached to the ayi’s ‘bedroom’ would be her bathroom. It is very compact being only 2 1/2 feet by 6 1/2 so you can pretty much do everything at once. Very efficient!
Coming out of the kitchen through the door is the rest of the kitchen and the dining room. The wall of appliances has a steam oven and a regular oven which I think will fit a 15lb turkey if I happen to cook Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner. A full sized fridge and freezer and a mammoth sized wine fridge which is totally lost on us!
The living room and my ‘Around the World’ quilt that I brought from home.
Hallway bathroom.
This is the second bedroom which we affectionately call Holly’s room and is the guest room if anyone comes to visit. It has an attached bathroom and walk-in closet. If you pull up the blind in the shower stall you can see the great outdoors, as well as the neighbours. I’m not sure why they built it like this.
This one is Courtney’s room and also has my sewing space. Sorry no attached bathroom, walk-in closet or TV! No bedroom for Cameron, he gets the couch.
The master bedroom and bathroom are lovely and spacious with all the bells and whistles. The bathtub has windows around it so you can soak in the tub and take in the lights of the city. Each room, bathroom and closet has its own humidity and temperature control which I thought was rather excessive until you realize how humid and hot it can get here. We also have heat which is lucky as lots of buildings in China do not. If you do not have central heating, you have to buy a space heater for every room.
But our favourite part of living here has to be the fabulous wrap around balcony and its gorgeous views! You can see that we are well taken care of here and we know that we are very fortunate. We have settled in well and are adjusting to what life will like be for the next two to three years. So if you are in the neighbourhood, D and D’s B & B (Asia Pacific Division) is officially open for business!
Dixie Goes to China 
It looks lovely, Dixie. Enjoy your new home away from home.
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Thanks Liz! Have a good summer!
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Thanks for the adventure Dixie. Love reading your blog. Take care
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Glad it like it!
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