In Shenzhen, rest assured you will not starve; you cannot starve. Even the most wary travellers are bound to find something comfortingly familiar, in the form of McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and their ilk.

That said, if you visit Shenzhen and eat every meal at U.S.-style fast food outlets, you will be missing out on the veritable treasure trove of culinary riches that the city has to offer.

As a city populated largely by migrants from all over China, Shenzhen offers authentic food from almost every corner of the country; and with an ever-increasing expat population, southern China’s boomtown also has a growing number of foreign food options. The city also has restaurants serving food tailored to different diets – vegetarians, despite the common perception that the Chinese diet consists of meat and more meat, have a great deal of choice, as do visitors who do not eat pork. Therefore, when planning your trip to Shenzhen, your worry should be not about whether you will find enough to eat; instead, you should be concerned about how to fit so many different kinds of food into a short visit. -Ranajit Dam