SZMeetups is made by me, Zack Franklin, because I got tired of people saying Shenzhen is boring.
The problem isn't the city. It's discovery.
There's a lot going on in Shenzhen — gigs, language exchanges, quiz nights, padel, festivals, exhibitions, trade shows. But almost all of it happens inside WeChat groups, or on Chinese apps that are hard to search and almost impossible to collect data from.
If you've just arrived, that makes it nearly impossible to get involved. You can't join a group you don't know exists, and you can't Google a WeChat group.
So this site is built for one thing: anyone coming to Shenzhen should be able to find something to do by searching Google or asking ChatGPT.
Who runs it
Me — and an army of AI agents. They help collect, check and update the listings that would otherwise stay buried in group chats; I decide what goes on the site.
Why me?
Because I'm the only one who doesn't need to make money from a site like this.
How to make it better
Honestly? Get me excited about it. The more excited I am about the site, the better it gets — and the more time I'll put into it. So share it with someone who just moved here, send in the events you know about, host something, and tell me what's missing.