Sauna Sleeps

Sauna Sleeps

Spas are a recent and much welcome trend in Shenzhen, and the city offers a number of excellent places to get soaked, sauna'd, and massaged to your heart's content. Although some of these places are thinly disguised houses of ill repute, many more cater to a higher class of clientele looking for a legitimate massage and sauna.

The way a Chinese sauna works is this: you checkin, lock up your belongings in a guarded locker room (you keep one key and the attendants keep the other), and have a shower and steam, and then soak as long as you like. Afterward, dressed in the spa's pajamas, you relax in a common area (usually well stocked with food and beverages, a couple of plasma-screen televisions piping in Hong Kong television, and comfortable chaise longues) until you're ready for your massage.

A well-known money-saving tip among Chinese travelers on overnight business is to checkin to one of these places in the mid- to late evening and catch a few hours' sleep in the common area after your massage. Your admission price—usually around Y200—entitles you to stick around until 9 AM the next day, and the common areas are generally pretty quiet after 2 AM (and guests are always provided blankets), making this a good strategy for anyone on a shoestring budget.