[SZTAITAI]

1. With beggars, walking ahead without saying anything is fine. In fact this is the best way to deal with anyone who talks to you on the street, sadly even children as they may be used as fronts for adults trying to get money from you. Just never deal with anyone who talks to you on the street, they want money, very simply. If someone bumps into you or distracts you, hang on to your wallet.
2. There are police and everywhere has guards. The metro is totally safe, just watch your wallet around ticket machines.
3. Shenzhen has its own "Octopus" card which you buy at any metro station.
4. Shenzhen has been cleaned up in recent years. The migrant population from the countryside has been reduced so most people have jobs and are not into crime. There are far more police now and many video cameras. Criminals will always be part of a group, never alone, so you can look out for two or three people hanging about and watching other people. Crime is not violent, they will just try pickpocketing or some scam to get money. Make sure any taxi you take has a licence displayed on the right hand side of the front windscreen. Never take a fake taxi, even though some will look like red regular taxis but without a licence displayed.
5. For the tailor, no quality tailor will do something in a day. They do the cutting themselves and then send the clothes to a sewer for sewing. They then inspect the clothes when they come back. Tailors do not charge for making adjustments after you try your garment on when it is finished but you need to allow a day for these final adjustments. Be as specific as you can with what you want, say you want "high quality" and be fussy about the finished product.Everyone works against the clock to make money so any mistake is just because the job has been rushed, not because they are not competent.
6. Most people in Shenzhen are well-meaning and have arrived from the countryside where they had a very poor life. Often they have never seen a foreigner before and might be scared of having to deal with one or having to speak English. A few manners and being nice to everyone goes a long way, but don't put up with anything where you are getting the wrong end of a deal. The exception to people coming from the countryside are the tailors, who come from Shanghai and go back every Chinese New Year.