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Most district comparisons for Shenzhen are written by people ranking places they have not lived in, and the giveaway is that every number is a round one. This one only scores what can be counted, shows the count in the same cell as the score, and leaves the most-requested column deliberately empty because the honest figure does not exist.
How to read it
Each score is round(10 × this district ÷ the highest district). So the leader in a column always scores 10 and everything else is relative to it. The raw count sits under every score, which means you can recompute the entire table yourself and disagree with it precisely rather than vaguely.
| District | International schools | Metro lines listed, not scored | Hotels | Restaurant coverage | Rent not published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shekou | 10 out of 10, from 3 of 8 | 2, 12, 13 | 6 out of 10, from 5 of 36 | 6 out of 10, from 9 of 45 | not published |
| Nanshan | 10 out of 10, from 3 of 8 | 1, 2, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13 | 4 out of 10, from 4 of 36 | 10 out of 10, from 14 of 45 | not published |
| Futian | 0 out of 10, from 0 of 8 | 4, 7, 10, 11 | 10 out of 10, from 9 of 36 | 9 out of 10, from 12 of 45 | not published |
| Luohu | 0 out of 10, from 0 of 8 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 | 6 out of 10, from 5 of 36 | 5 out of 10, from 7 of 45 | not published |
| Qianhai | 3 out of 10, from 1 of 8 | 1, 5, 9, 11 | 2 out of 10, from 2 of 36 | 1 out of 10, from 1 of 45 | not published |
| Bao’an | 0 out of 10, from 0 of 8 | 1, 5, 11, 12, 20 | 6 out of 10, from 5 of 36 | 0 out of 10, from 0 of 45 | not published |
| Longhua | 3 out of 10, from 1 of 8 | 4, 5, 6, 10 | 0 out of 10, from 0 of 36 | 0 out of 10, from 0 of 45 | not published |
Why there is no rent column
Rent is the first thing everybody wants scored and the one figure I will not put a number on. There is no current official average rent published on a basis that would let you compare Shekou with Futian like for like — the districts are different sizes, the stock is different ages, and the listing platforms report asking prices rather than signed ones. This site already says so on the Shekou versus Futian comparison, and putting a 9 and an 8 in a table here would contradict that for the sake of a tidier grid. What would fix it is a dated sample of matched listings — same bedroom count, same building age, same month — and that is a piece of work I would rather do properly than fake.
Why there is no total column
Because adding schools to hotels produces a number that looks authoritative and means nothing. A family choosing on the school run and a consultant choosing on hotel supply want opposite answers, and a composite hides exactly the disagreement that should drive the decision. Read the column that matches your constraint and ignore the rest.
What each column is actually measuring
Two of these measure the district, one measures this directory, and one is shown without a score because I do not trust it enough to rank on. That distinction matters more than any of the scores.
International schools measures the district
Schools from the comparison whose main campus is in the district. Counted on the first district named, so the three Shekou campuses are not also counted as Nanshan.
Metro lines measures this site
The line numbers named in that district’s guide on this site — shown, but deliberately not scored. It reflects what those guides happen to mention rather than the network, and it visibly under-counts Futian. A scored version needs the official line-by-district list, which is a piece of work still to do.
Hotels measures the district
Unique hotels in the directory, deduplicated — the hub lists most of them under several headings at once.
Restaurant coverage measures this directory
How many of the 45 restaurants in this directory are in the district. This measures where I have eaten, not where the good food is — Bao’an and Longhua score zero because I have not written them up, not because they have nothing.
What the table is good for
Narrowing, not deciding. If you have children and need a campus within a sane commute, the schools column removes four districts in one glance. If you are hosting visitors monthly, the hotel column tells you Futian is doing something the others are not. Then go and read the district guides, or spend a weekend on the 72-hour neighbourhood test, which is worth more than any table including this one.
Counts are drawn from this site’s own directories and the schools comparison, all last checked on 23 August 2026. Where a district scores zero it means this site has nothing recorded, which is not the same as the district having nothing. Corrections are welcome and get made.