A Guide to Liuxiandong and Xili: Where to Eat, Work and Meet in North Nanshan

Liuxiandong (留仙洞) is a headquarters district in Xili, north Nanshan, built around the Line 5 and Line 13 interchange at Liuxiandong station. DJI, Transsion, UBtech and Lepu Medical all have headquarters within a short walk of the station. Most visitors arrive for a meeting, spend the day, and leave without knowing anything about the area around them.

This guide covers how to get here, what's around the station, where to eat and work, and what to do once the meetings are done.

Where is Liuxiandong?

Liuxiandong is in Xili Subdistrict (西丽街道), in the north of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, centred on the junction of Liuxian Avenue and Tongfa Road. It sits between the Hi-Tech Park to the south and Xili Lake and the university campuses to the north.

Shenzhen planned it as a headquarters zone for technology companies, and over the past decade it has filled with tall, modern office towers rather than factories. It feels newer and more spacious than the Hi-Tech Park further south, with wide roads, green space and mountains visible on the skyline.

Xili, the wider subdistrict, includes:

• Liuxiandong — the headquarters cluster around the station
• Shenzhen University Town (深圳大学城) — graduate campuses of several of China's leading universities
• Xili Lake (西丽湖) — a reservoir with a greenway and walking trails
• Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and Shenzhen Polytechnic University (Xili campus)

How do I get to Liuxiandong?

Take Shenzhen Metro Line 5 or Line 13 to Liuxiandong station (留仙洞站), which is an interchange between the two. Line 13 runs south through the Hi-Tech Park, Shenzhen University and Houhai to Shenzhen Bay Port, the border crossing to Hong Kong. Line 5 runs east-west across the city, connecting to Shenzhen North high-speed rail station.

The station has six exits:

From Hong Kong, cross at Shenzhen Bay Port and take Line 13 north — Liuxiandong is nine stops, with no change of train. Our guide to getting from Hong Kong to Nanshan for the day covers the crossing in detail.

By taxi or Didi, give the driver the Chinese address of your destination, not the English building name. Many towers here have Chinese names that bear no resemblance to their English ones.

What companies are based in Liuxiandong?

Liuxiandong is home to the global headquarters of DJI, the drone maker, and of Transsion, the phone maker behind Tecno, Infinix and itel, along with UBtech Robotics, Lepu Medical and Tinno Mobile. All of them are within a few minutes' walk of Liuxiandong station.

The most recognisable building is DJI Sky City (大疆天空之城), two linked towers designed by Foster + Partners, completed in 2022. At roughly 213 and 195 metres, it dominates the skyline and is the easiest landmark to navigate by.

For visitors, this concentration has a practical consequence: if you are here for hardware, robotics, consumer electronics or drones, there is a good chance several of your meetings are within ten minutes of each other. Plan the day around the station rather than crossing the city between appointments.

Where can I work near Liuxiandong station?

hyphen. Shenzhen is on the second floor of Transsion Tower, 8 Xianyuan Road, a short walk from Exit D of Liuxiandong station. It is an all-day café and kitchen, open daily from 08:00 to 21:00, with free Wi-Fi, proper table seating and power.

[CONFIRM: walking directions from Exit D — e.g. "Leave by Exit D, turn [left/right], and Transsion Tower is the [description] building [X] metres ahead. Take the lift to 2/F."]

What makes it useful as a working base:

• It opens at 08:00, before most meetings, with speciality coffee and fresh bakery.
• Lunch is served from 11:30 and is built for the offices around it — fast enough for a one-hour break.
• The kitchen runs all day, so you can eat without packing up.
• Long laptop sessions are welcome. Nobody will move you along.

📍 2/F Transsion Tower, 8 Xianyuan Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen | 深圳市南山区西丽街道仙元路8号传音大厦2楼

If you need a desk for a week or more, rather than a table for a day, the Hi-Tech Park and Houhai, both on Line 13, have the largest concentration of coworking spaces in Nanshan.

Where to eat in Liuxiandong

Most food around Liuxiandong is built for the office lunch: fast, affordable and busiest between 12:00 and 13:30. The office towers have food courts and ground-floor restaurants, and Yuefang Plaza (Exit B) has a wider choice of chain restaurants and cafés.

A few things to know:

• Lunch rush is real. Arrive before 12:00 or after 13:15 to get a table without queuing.
• Ordering is often by QR code in Chinese, through WeChat or Alipay. If you can't read it, ask for a paper menu — most places have one.
• Dinner thins out. Many lunch spots close or quieten once the offices empty. For a proper sit-down dinner, book.

Where to take a client for lunch or dinner in Liuxiandong

For a client meal near Liuxiandong, choose somewhere within walking distance of their office, with a menu you can order from without negotiation. Visiting clients rarely want to spend 30 minutes in a taxi between a meeting and a meal.

At hyphen. Shenzhen, dinner is served from 17:30 and cooked by chef Bi Jingtao, formerly sous chef at Chinoiserie at Marina Bay Sands and at JUSTIN Flavours of Asia in Singapore. The menu is Mediterranean with Asian technique, priced from ¥42 to ¥157 a dish, and the room can be booked for private dinners.

Our guide to planning a corporate dinner in Shenzhen covers seating, toasting and the fapiao.

What to do in Xili after work

Xili's best after-work option is the outdoors: Xili Lake and Tanglang Mountain are both within a short ride of Liuxiandong. This is one of the few business districts in Shenzhen where you can finish a meeting and be on a trail within half an hour.

• Xili Lake Greenway (西丽湖绿道). A 3.7 km walking and cycling route along the lake, opened in 2023. Take Metro Line 7 to Xili Lake station, Exit B, and walk about 800 metres to the entrance.
• Tanglang Mountain Country Park (塘朗山郊野公园). About 10 square kilometres of forested hills, with Tanglang Peak at 430 metres looking out over Shenzhen towards Hong Kong. Open 07:30 to 22:00. The Pine Trail starts from Shenyun station on Line 7, Exit B.
• Shenzhen University Town (深圳大学城). A quiet, green campus area north of Liuxiandong, good for a walk and noticeably calmer than the rest of Nanshan.

For a drink after work, hyphen. Shenzhen has a full cocktail list until 21:00. For later nights, Houhai and Shekou, both on Line 13 or a short taxi ride south, have the densest bar scenes in Nanshan.

What is coming to Liuxiandong?

Xili is getting a high-speed railway station. Xili High-Speed Railway Station is planned on Line 13 between Hi-Tech North and Shigu, with opening currently expected around 2029. When it opens, Liuxiandong will be a few minutes from direct high-speed trains, which will make it one of the best-connected business districts in the city.

The short version

• Liuxiandong is the headquarters cluster in Xili, north Nanshan, around Liuxiandong station (Line 5 and Line 13).
• DJI, Transsion, UBtech, Lepu Medical and Tinno are all within walking distance of the station.
• From Hong Kong: Shenzhen Bay Port, then Line 13 north, nine stops, no change.
• Use Exit D for Transsion Tower and hyphen. Shenzhen; Exit A for DJI Sky City.
• Lunch rush runs 12:00–13:30. Arrive early or late.
• After work, Xili Lake Greenway and Tanglang Mountain are a short ride away.
• Give taxi drivers Chinese addresses, not English building names.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Liuxiandong in Shenzhen? Liuxiandong (留仙洞) is in Xili Subdistrict, in the north of Nanshan District, around the junction of Liuxian Avenue and Tongfa Road. It is a headquarters district for technology companies, served by Liuxiandong metro station on Lines 5 and 13.

Which metro lines serve Liuxiandong station? Line 5 and Line 13. Line 13 runs south to the Hi-Tech Park, Shenzhen University, Houhai and Shenzhen Bay Port. Line 5 runs across the city and connects to Shenzhen North high-speed rail station.

Which companies are headquartered in Liuxiandong? DJI, Transsion, UBtech Robotics, Lepu Medical and Tinno Mobile all have buildings near Liuxiandong station. DJI's headquarters, DJI Sky City, is a pair of towers designed by Foster + Partners and completed in 2022.

Which exit of Liuxiandong station is for Transsion Tower? Exit D. Transsion Tower is at 8 Xianyuan Road, and hyphen. Shenzhen is on its second floor.

Where can I get coffee near Liuxiandong station? hyphen. Shenzhen, on the second floor of Transsion Tower at 8 Xianyuan Road (Exit D), serves speciality coffee and bakery from 08:00 every day. It has Wi-Fi, table seating and power, and is open until 21:00.

Where can I have lunch near Transsion Tower? The office towers around Liuxiandong have food courts and ground-floor restaurants, and Yuefang Plaza at Exit B has more choice. hyphen. Shenzhen, on the second floor of Transsion Tower, serves a fast lunch from 11:30. Arrive before 12:00 or after 13:15 to avoid the rush.

What is there to do near Xili? Xili Lake Greenway, a 3.7 km lakeside walking and cycling route, and Tanglang Mountain Country Park, with trails and a 430-metre peak, are both a short ride from Liuxiandong. Shenzhen University Town is also nearby and good for a quiet walk.

How do I get from Hong Kong to Liuxiandong? Cross at Shenzhen Bay Port and take Metro Line 13 north from Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint station to Liuxiandong. It is nine stops with no change of train.

Working in Liuxiandong?

We're on the second floor of Transsion Tower, off Exit D. Coffee and bakery from 08:00, lunch from 11:30 that fits inside an hour, and dinner from chef Bi Jingtao from 17:30. Bring the laptop. Stay as long as you like.

Find us →

📍 2/F Transsion Tower, 8 Xianyuan Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen | 深圳市南山区西丽街道仙元路8号传音大厦2楼 🕐 Open daily 08:00 – 21:00 · Phone & WeChat: +86 133 1689 4515 · hello@hyphencoffee.com