The Essential Guide to Electronics in Shenzhen

A sourcing tool designed to help non-Mandarin speakers navigate the Hua Qiang electronics market. Going to Shenzhen, China is a massive enabler for Makers, hackers, and entrepreneurs alike. The Essential Guide to Electronics in Shenzhen is the book I wish I had when I first stepped foot into China a decade ago. The Hua Qiang electronics market has been an enabling resource for me. However, overcoming the language barrier is one of the keys to unlocking the market's full potential, and this book's point-to-translate format enables a fluidity of interaction with market vendors that I've struggled to achieve with translation apps and eBooks. The guide has pages dedicated to helping you sort through many types and sizes, and once you've finally found a sample that's close to what you want, it has even more pages dedicated to specifying the finer details of the parts you need. The guide also includes notes on how to cross the border and get around, as well as tactically useful information on topics such as "is it fake?". The final section in the book contains maps. The first few pages call out spots that I've found useful or interesting, but my favorite part is the pages of blank maps interleaved with business card and receipt holders.