Shenzhen is blessed when it comes to western style coffee shops, and even more so when it comes to free wi-fi. It makes Hong Kong look like a hotspot desert! If you can find a hot spot in HK you’ll usually have to pay or it’s time-limited. For example, Starbucks in HK is time-limited, but not so in Shenzhen although you will need a working mobile number to receive an SMS with a passcode. Yes, HK probably wins on the boutique cafe and coffee shop front, for now.
Shenzhen has the big coffee franchises including Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Pacific Coffee plus local heavyweights including UBC Coffee and Ming Tien Coffee Language with the latter two focused more on meals. There are also numerous boutique cafe and coffee shops plus many cafe bakeries serving up coffee and milk tea.
Who makes the best latte in Shenzhen? My pick is GEE Coffee.
Update 2018: added Gee Coffee, Aix Arome Café, 21Gram, MAAN Coffee, Knockbox Coffee, Hollys Coffee
Anyways, here’s the map (note some map locations are approximate):
Other places for free wi-fi in Shenzhen:
Crossiants De France (some stores)
YongheKing (CN) – no coffee but does have free wi-fi.
UBC Coffee (CN)
McDonalds have free wi-fi, and there’s more and more McCafes opening up, unfortunately the wi-fi is time limited.
Feel free to suggest any great Shenzhen coffee shops you find in the comments (include an address if possible).