Shenzhen or Zhangjiajie?

Of the two, only Shenzhen can offer a beach vacation, though it takes some effort. The sands are all on the Dapeng peninsula, an hour or more from the centre. Dameisha and Xiaomeisha are busy and nearer, while the wider, greener curve of Xichong sits at the far tip. In summer the sea is warm for swimming, when typhoons allow.

Zhangjiajie is landlocked in the mountains of western Hunan. Baofeng Lake is for boat rides, not swimming, so rafting in the gorges is as close as you get to a day in the water.

Shenzhen eats like a cross-section of the whole country. You can have Cantonese dim sum, Chaoshan beef hotpot, Hakka salt-baked chicken and northern dumplings, often cooked by people from those regions. You can also pick seafood from the tanks at Nan'ao or Shekou, and Shekou and OCT have international restaurants and craft beer. The drawback is setting: most good meals are in malls and residential streets rather than old eating quarters.

Zhangjiajie has one cuisine, the sour, smoky, chilli-heavy cooking of western Hunan and the Tujia and Miao. Sanxiaguo stew and wood-cured bacon are worth seeking out in the city's evening food streets. Range is narrow, though, and near the Wulingyuan gates menus are aimed at tour groups.

Neither city is a culture destination, but Shenzhen gives you more to fill the gaps. Its sights tell the story of a young city: the Shenzhen Museum's account of its rapid growth, the galleries in OCT Loft's old factories, and the copy painters of Dafen. For older history there are Nantou's Ming-era lanes, Dapeng Fortress and the Hakka walls of Crane Lake.

In Zhangjiajie itself, the quiet Ming halls of Puguang Temple and a Tujia folk-customs park are about all there is, and half a day covers them.

Shenzhen has a real night out, if not a famous one. There are big clubs with bottle service around Coco Park, relaxed pubs and terraces in Shekou, smaller arts-crowd bars in OCT, and private KTV rooms that run late. The catch is that the venues are far apart and mostly indoors.

Zhangjiajie keeps tourist hours. Everyone is up at dawn for the parks, so a beer by the river or on the rebuilt old street is the night, and Wulingyuan goes quiet after dinner.

Shenzhen's outdoors is gentle and mostly coastal. Wutong Mountain, just under 950m, is a stiff climb with views towards Hong Kong. The Dapeng peninsula trail runs between rocky headlands and coves, and the Shenzhen Bay path passes mangroves where waders feed in winter. These are pleasant outings, but the hills are modest and nobody flies in for them.

Zhangjiajie is in a different league altogether, and here the gap between the two is enormous. The UNESCO-listed sandstone pillars of Wulingyuan rise sheer from misty forest, with macaques foraging beside the paths. Tianmen Mountain's cable car climbs from the town centre to cliff-edge walkways and the arch of Heaven's Gate, and the Grand Canyon, Yellow Dragon Cave and river rafting lie further out.

Shenzhen's place on the Pearl River Delta gives it far more reach. Hong Kong is under half an hour by fast train. Guangzhou's Chen Clan Ancestral Hall and Shamian Island and Foshan's temple are close, and Macau's Portuguese old town is a ferry ride away, though Hong Kong and Macau need the right visa to get back in.

Zhangjiajie has three strong outings: the stilted riverside town of Fenghuang, Furong Town's cliff-top village over a waterfall, and the Tujia ruins of Laosicheng. After that, the choice is mostly more mountains.

Shenzhen is much easier with children. Happy Valley, Window of the World and Splendid China are clustered in OCT, and there are also the Safari Park and the marine park at Xiaomeisha. Add metro lifts and malls with play areas and nursing rooms, and the logistics are simple.

Zhangjiajie thrills older children with swinging cable cars, glass walkways and the cliff-face lift. It has almost nothing made for families, though, and long queues and steep stone steps are hard on small children and pushchairs.

Shenzhen's metro is clean, bilingual and reaches the airport, the theme parks and the border. The problem is distance: the city sprawls about 80km, so Shekou to the Dapeng beaches takes a morning.

Zhangjiajie's compact centre is walkable, but the forest park is around 30km away at Wulingyuan. Getting there means buses, taxis or a hired driver. Inside the park, the shuttles have confusing routes and mostly Chinese signs, which is why many visitors split their nights between Wulingyuan and town.

Shenzhen has shopping you will find nowhere else. Huaqiangbei's floors of electronics stalls are worth a wander even if you buy nothing, and Luohu Commercial City is a maze of tailors and fabric sellers. There are also polished malls in Futian and Nanshan, though luxury flagships and independent boutiques are thin on the ground.

Zhangjiajie offers mountain produce, teas and souvenirs near the park gates. The souvenir most worth taking home is xilankapu, the geometric Tujia brocade, along with some Miao silver.

Both are inexpensive for comfortable hotels, local meals and transport, with Zhangjiajie a little cheaper day to day. Where the money goes is different. In Zhangjiajie the biggest cost is the ticketed sights: separate charges for the forest park, the Tianmen cable car, the glass bridges and the lifts. Rooms near the gates also cost more during Golden Week and Chinese New Year.

In Shenzhen a careful traveller spends little. Costs rise mainly at the theme parks, in the international bars of Shekou and Coco Park, and at the Shenzhen Bay luxury hotels.

Shenzhen has a proper concert calendar. Its symphony orchestra is based at the Shenzhen Concert Hall, the Poly Theatre and Grand Theatre host touring ballet and acrobatics, and live houses near OCT Loft put on Chinese indie bands. It is worth catching but not worth planning a trip around.

Zhangjiajie offers only large staged spectacles of Tujia and Miao folklore. The open-air show beneath Tianmen Mountain, with the cliffs as its backdrop, is a memorable evening, but it is the only kind of show in town.

Shenzhen treats relaxation as part of daily life. Its multi-floor bathhouses have pools, saunas, sleeping halls and massage rooms open all night, and people cross from Hong Kong just to use them. There are also foot-massage parlours on most blocks and hot springs in the hills.

Zhangjiajie is built around effort rather than rest. A foot massage after the trails, a few hotel spas and early mornings in the lower valleys before the tour groups arrive are the best it can offer.