Nanshan is where Shenzhen's tech and creative industries concentrate — home to the headquarters of Tencent, DJI, Huawei (in the adjacent district), and dozens of other major tech companies. It's also where the city's most interesting visitor districts cluster: OCT-LOFT, Window of the World, Splendid China Folk Culture Villages, and Shenzhen Bay Park are all in Nanshan.
The district stretches from the high-rises of the Nanshan CBD south to Shenzhen Bay and west to the Shekou ferry terminal, where boats leave for Hong Kong's outlying islands and for Guangzhou. The Shekou area around the ferry terminal has a long expat history — it was one of the earliest developed parts of the Special Economic Zone — and retains a more international character than most of the city, with a concentrated collection of bars and restaurants along Sea World Plaza.
Nanshan has better parks and waterfront access than the rest of Shenzhen, and the residential areas between the tech campuses have a more relaxed pace.