Gongbei District, Zhuhai – 拱北, 珠海

Gongbei (拱北; Gǒngběi) is, along with Jida (吉大; Jídà), one of the most vibrant districts of Zhuhai. These two areas share common traits, like being swarmed with businesses, hotels and foreigners, but Gongbei has a peculiar charm for being side by side with Macau and having the customs building between mainland China and Macau: Gongbei Port.

Because of this, the area around this building is a mix of hotels, street vendors, improvised markets, hundreds of shops (copycats or originals) for clothing, electronics, food, sports, Apple products, beggars, narrow and labyrinthine streets, the ‘animal slaughter alley’ (video below), not to mention loitering and a mix of smells in a range that goes to candy and crispy buns to chicken feet reheated by the sun.

This is a walk around the area by day:

And this one at night:

The main attraction of the District is at its southern edge, where there is an underground shopping mall, officially called Zhuhai Port Plaza, and Gongbei Underground Market informally, just next to the Macau border crossing.