That One Saturday Night in Shenzhen at DJI’s Flagship Store
Just got home from China. The business trip was all factory meetings and handshakes, but the part I keep replaying happened after dinner cruise on Saturday.
8:15 PM. We’re heading back to the hotel in Shenzhen after the cruise along the Hong Kong and Macau shorelines. I’d known before even arriving in Shenzhen that I’d visit the DJI Flagship Store—no compromises. When my good friend Liu (the guy lifting the Ronin 2 in the video) earlier that day said there is a DJI shop in the mall next to my hotel, I just smiled and said, “No, no, no—we’re going to the flagship”
We stopped there on the way back, late Saturday evening. Perfect timing: darkness had fallen, and the store lit up like my personal cathedral. Hallelujah!
I own everything they sell for fun—Mavic, Mini, Avata, Ronin, Mics, Pocket, Action, the works. Didn’t need a thing. But when the mothership is right there? You take the detour.
Inside the Beast
This isn’t a store. It’s a 4,000-square-meter playground for drone nerds. Open till 22:30 on weekends, free to walk in, and packed with gear you’ll never see on Amazon.
- Agras T60: 60-liter tank, sprays 20 hectares an hour. One machine does the work of 40 guys with backpack sprayers—and uses 30% less chemical.
- Matrice 350 with thermal/zoom payload: Spotted a hiker 2 km away in total darkness. GPS pinged to rescue in under a minute.
- Phantom 1: 2013, 720p, 15-minute battery, manual gimbal. Looked like a relic next to today’s stuff. Kids stared like it was a dinosaur.
The e-MTB
I’m an e-MTB fan. So when I spotted the DJI-powered Amflow e-MTB in the flesh, I did a double take. Matte black frame, that tiny DJI Avinox motor humming quietly on the demo stand. Picked it up—surprisingly light for 800 Wh of torque. Felt like cheating physics. If I didn’t already have three bikes, I’d have been in trouble.
The Hasselblad Floor (Third Floor Magic)
Took the elevator up and walked into a different world. Dark walls, low lights, large prints. As a Swede, seeing Hasselblad’s camera icons up close made me a little proud.
Then I saw Hans Strand’s work—our guy, the legend from Gotland. But the prints? Honestly, a letdown. Colors a bit flat, paper too matte. They deserved better. Still, standing there under dim gallery lights, it felt like a quiet nod from home.
The Ronin 2 That Nearly Broke My Back
One thing I don’t own: the Ronin 2. Saw it mounted with a full RED cinema camera—probably 15 kg total. I had to pick ut up. Holy hell. Heavier than my MTB. Shoulders screamed. Respect to the gimbal ops who run and gun with that beast all day. Now I get why they train like athletes.
The Chillest Demo Ever
Asked about the Avata 2. The DJI Guy just shrugged:
“Come back tomorrow, fly it in the Oasis. No strings.”
The Oasis is this open-air platform on the second floor, overlooking Shenzhen Bay. City lights, water, breeze—felt like a drone ad in real life.
One Stat That Stuck
DJI owns 77% of the consumer drone market and 70% of the industrial side. Your $300 toy and the drone dropping aid in a war zone? Same factory.
Walked out empty-handed but buzzing. Best souvenir? The memory—and the ache in my shoulders from that Ronin.
Side Quest: Sunday Night
Only in Shenzhen do you wander into a showroom where kid-sized toy drones share shelf space with anti-drone rifles and full-size personal transport drones. I walked out grinning—and that story’s coming next. Stay tuned.
