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Just across the border from Hong Kong and Macau is the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong, home to the world’s most expansive manufacturing hub. This polluted delta chock-full of factories is certainly not a typical tourist draw, but if you are at all like many residents of Hong Kong and Macau, you’ll be tempted to cross the border for bargain, well, pretty much everything: tailor-made clothes, electronics, honest massages, authentic dim sum, and even oil paintings. But Hong Kong’s mainland neighbours, with their unique tales and many interesting sites, both old and new, are certainly worth visiting for more than just bargains.

It was here that the ancient Maritime Silk Road had its beginnings and here that foreign merchants first made contact with China. Guangdong was the birthplace of reform and revolution in the early 20th century, eventually guiding the fate of modern China. In the 1980s, the region was emblematic of China’s modernity. Two out of five Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and trade links with Hong Kong were set up here under Deng Xiaoping, turning the region into a trailblazer for the mainland’s transition from a planned socialist economy into a market-based system. The region is still taking a lead in steering 21st-century China.

The easiest places to visit for a day from Hong Kong and Macau, respectively, are the two SEZs – Shenzhen (below) and Zhuhai (Click here). These two cities are among the most prosperous in China, and for residents of Hong Kong and Macau, they’re an extended shopping mall, a manufacturing mecca in which you can bargain-hunt to your wallet’s content.

More interesting is Guangzhou (Click here), the capital of Guangdong, which is worth a weekend or longer. Apart from the Canton Trade Fair (Click here), the country’s largest trade event, this historic city boasts a number of well-preserved heritages houses that are worth strolling around.

The fast and efficient railway and other ground transportation networks make it a snap to get around. All of the destinations in this chapter lie within a 90-minute journey of Hong Kong.

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SHENZHEN

Once you cross the border at Lo Wu, you’ll gradually notice that Cantonese is no longer the lingua franca on the other side of the fence, even though you’re technically in Guangdong. Shenzhen, with a population of 13 million people, has drawn a mix of businessmen, investors and migrant workers to its golden gates, all of them trying to find a place in China’s economic miracle. When this once sleepy fishing village became a SEZ in 1980, capitalism took root. Developers added a stock market, luxury condominiums and office towers rivalling those of Hong Kong. In less than 30 years, it has become China’s wealthiest and youngest city (the average age of its residents is just 29) and a get-rich-quick prototype for other Chinese cities.

Geographically, Shenzhen includes Shenzhen City (Shēnzhèn Shì in Mandarin), opposite the border crossing at Lo Wu (Luóhú), the Shenzhen SEZ and Shenzhen County (Shēnzhèn Xiàn), which extends several kilometres north of the SEZ. You can buy a five-day, Shenzhen-only visa at the border (Americans excluded, see Click here).

For most day visitors, Shenzhen is mostly about shopping (possibly followed by a cheap massage or good dim sum). It doesn’t matter whether goods are counterfeit or pirate, so long as the price is right. Sometimes, with a little patience and luck, you can actually find quality at rock-bottom prices; see Click here. However, although the bargains are Shenzhen’s main draws, the rise of the new, young and relatively rich middle class has energised this city with some edgy and fascinating cultural scenes that are gradually picking up steam. There are also a few theme parks worth checking out, some of which are new, and some dated.

A good introduction to this incredible city is the new, hulking complex of Shenzhen Museum (Shēnzhèn Bówùguǎn Xīnguǎn; 0755-8201 3036; www.shenzhenmuseum.com.cn; East Gate, Citizens’ Centre, Fuzhong Sanlu, Futian; admission free; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun;