Luohu

Luohu's character was set on 26 August 1980, when the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was formally established and this stretch of the Shenzhen River became the primary border crossing point. The district developed as the entry point for goods, investment, and people flowing between Hong Kong and the new SEZ, and the commercial intensity of that function shaped everything about it.

Lo Wu Commercial City — the large shopping complex built directly over and adjacent to the Luohu/Lo Wu border crossing station — is the physical expression of this commercial intensity. Multiple floors of stalls sell clothing, electronics, bags, watches, tailoring, and beauty services at prices calibrated to the Hong Kong and international tourist market. The market is primarily known for goods of uncertain provenance; it also has legitimate product categories including tailoring (several tailors here have multi-decade reputations) and authentic Chinese tea and food products.

Dongmen pedestrian district, a few blocks west of the station, is Shenzhen's oldest commercial street and retains more local Cantonese character than the border-facing Lo Wu mall. The density of eating options — Guangdong roast meats, Hong Kong milk tea stalls, Chaoshan beef hot pot — reflects the neighbourhood's history as the first urban fabric of Shenzhen, settled before the newer districts to the west were built.

East Lake Park, north of the commercial district, provides green space within walking distance of the station. The park's artificial lake and planted hills were constructed in the 1980s as a leisure amenity for the new city's first residents.