Visiting Agilian from Shenzhen? Here’s what you need to know…
When to visit us
Agilian in Dongguan
Tuesdays and Thursdays are preferred for customer visits at Agilian in Dongguan and visits are always by appointment only.
Sofeast group Shenzhen HQ
We also provide the option to have a meeting in our group’s main Shenzhen office in the Huaqiangbei area of Shenzhen’s city center, but it is mainly an administrative office and you will not see any assembly or manufacturing-related activities there. We prefer customer visits on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but visits are also always by appointment only here, as well.
Please contact us in advance to arrange your visit.
Agilian’s location
We’re located just across the border from Shenzhen in Dongguan’s Chang’an district, not far from Shenzhen International Airport – we’re seeing more customers flying internationally and arriving at Shenzhen’s airport.
As you can see, we’re located just a short 30-40 min drive from Shenzhen airport.
Travelling to meet us from Shenzhen / Shenzhen airport
We’re going to assume that you already have a Chinese visa because you have flown directly into the Chinese mainland.
There are 3 transport options for visiting Agilian:
- Gaotie (high-speed railway) from Futian or Shenzhen North stations + Taxi
- Shenzhen Metro (line 11 to Bitou) + Taxi
- Taxi/Car all the way
Option 1. Gaotie + Taxi
You can see here that both Futian and Shenzhen North stations link directly to Dongguan’s main Humen station:
Futian station / 福田站 is easily accessible by metro (or taxi) for those staying in Shenzhen city center, as it intersects lines 2,3, and 11 (it is also Asia’s largest underground railway station).
Shenzhen North Station / 深圳北站 is also easy to get to by metro or taxi from Shenzhen city center, and it intersects lines 4,5, and 6.
The Gaotie station you’re heading to in Dongguan is “Humen / 虎门”. It’s a pretty big station (also a station for metro, light rail, and bus), so it may take time just looking for the right place to find the correct platform to take the Gaotie back to Shenzhen’s Futian or Shenzhen North stations.
To purchase your train tickets in advance you may choose to use Trip.com, or you can buy than at the train station using your card, QR code payment, or local currency. Keep your ID handy when buying tickets just in case they ask to see it.
Option 2. Metro from Shenzhen city center or Shenzhen airport + Taxi
It is easy and cheap to take the Shenzhen metro (underground) to visit us.
Regardless of whether you’re coming directly from the airport (red box) or the city center (green box), you would take the Shenzhen Metro Line 11 to its end and then take a taxi from either Songgang or Bitou station giving them our address (you can pay for single trip tickets in cash in the station using machines or from the help desk, or purchase a Shenzhen metro card and top it up with cash there or at self-serve machines if you prefer). You can also download the Shenzhen Metro app and use it with your phone payments if you’ve set them up.
Option 3. Taking a taxi/car service from Shenzhen airport or the city center to Agilian
No matter if you use a taxi or car service for the entire or just a part of your journey, the driver will need to see this address (you may choose to screenshot it in case you have no mobile internet when you need to show the taxi driver. There is also a contact number included for our staff member who can speak to the driver if need be):
广东省东莞市长安镇，乌沙社区兴发南路东一街，豪荣智创科技大厦2楼208
Contact number: +86 181 2857 3969
From Shenzhen airport it usually takes 30 to 45 min by car. In rush hour (around 8:30 am, or around 5-6 pm), it might take much longer.
From SZ city center, let’s say Futian district, it could take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on traffic.
Once you arrive at Agilian
The taxi or car will pull up in our parking lot. The fastest way to get to us is to enter through this white door you’ll see beneath the large Agilian sign on the building, take the stairs and go up 2 flights. There you’ll see our reception:
Where to stay when visiting?
If you intend to remain in Shenzhen, we suggest staying in a hotel that is still nearby. These options are only about 15-20 mins away by taxi:
- Hilton Garden Inn, Shenzhen, Bao’an 宝安希尔顿花园酒店
Address in Chinese: 中国深圳市宝安区新沙路529号[HILTON LINK]
This hotel is in Shenzhen, about 30 minutes away from us by taxi. As you’d expect from its brand, it’s a good and ‘no surprise’ international hotel with a decent breakfast buffet. It’s in a lively area, a few steps away from a McDonald’s, a Starbucks, a Pizza Hut, a Burger King, and a Walmart supermarket. It is about 25 min away from Shenzhen airport by taxi. - Jinhai Hotel, Bao’an (Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center Xisha Road) 中国广东深圳宝安区沙井街西沙路42号1楼金海酒店
[TRIP.COM LINK]
Again, on the Shenzhen side, but still only about 15 minutes away from Agilian by car/taxi, this is a new, nice quality, and good value hotel that is very comfortable.
If you do prefer to stay further away in Shenzhen city center there are plentiful Western hotel chains to choose from and cheaper, but still fine, Chinese hotels, too.
Keeping in touch
If you’re travelling to us in China there are probably a few things you should do before your visit.
1. Arrange a way to use mobile data in China
Before you leave, please make sure you can use a data plan (probably with “roaming” on in your phone settings) when you are in mainland China. If for some reason you have no access to data, everything will be much more complicated. You probably won’t find free available wifi in the train stations.
A Chinese friend may be able to help you purchase a pay-as-you-go SIM in a mobile store. China Unicom offers short-term SIM-only deals, whereas China Telecom does not (in SZ).
One of our customers purchased a SIM that worked in China from Airalo.com that worked well, and others are likely available.
2. Setup WeChat on your phone
WeChat is China’s ‘do everything’ app. If you travel to China it will disadvantage you not to have this app as everyone uses it to communicate, buy items, and a lot more. If you set up your account in advance our team can contact you via the app (calls or messages) if you get stuck when travelling to us, for example. Here’s a good guide to setting it up.
3. Being able to make mobile payments will be helpful
It will be very convenient for you if you activate the Alipay or WeChat Pay apps so you can pay via QR code. Cash and foreign debit or credit cards are not readily accepted in China, and certainly not by taxi drivers. These apps will allow you to link your foreign card and then scan QR codes to pay for things…and there are almost no limits to what you can (or must in many cases) pay for by QR code in China.
4. Use China’s taxi app Didi
Uber does not work in China but the Didi ride-hailing app has an English language application that can be used once you install WeChat/Alipay payments to your phone.
