After debating for some time, on my final full day in the area I crossed into mainland China, visiting the city of Shenzhen.

Taking the metro up to the border, and crossing the pedestrian bridge through the no-man's-land, I went around the corner, where after filling in some forms and handing over about £50 I was given a 5 day visa to the Special Economic Region - far easier than applying for a normal Chinese visa.

Being checked at passport control where they used Dell computers that were indeed "Made in China" I was allowed into the world's most populous country and I was met by another friend of mine, Alex who took me round the city.

The city, twice as populous as its more famous neighbour, felt in many ways just like Hong Kong, and was far less communist than I had imagined. One of the most surprising things I learnt was that this was just the first of a whole conurbation of cities that stretched all the way to Guangzhou, 70 miles north and contains around 100 million people!

We took a trip around the city, including visiting the Diwang Building, the 17th tallest in the world, where the observation tower is dedicated to the handover - with a wax model of Margaret Thatcher meeting the Chinese Premier to agree the exchange.

After visiting Alex's flat in a typical-for-China skyscraper, I then crossed back into Hong Kong for my final day.