A bowl of crayfish and a lift of noodles on a Shenzhen table

Pilot · Shenzhen first

Built for explorers, and the locals who love their city.

Shenzhen Buddies matches travelers with locals who share their interests. Casual, affordable, personal — the opposite of a tour bus.

Why we built this

Tourists deserve more than tour buses.

Friends kept telling us the food was incredible, the people were warm — but they spent half their trip translating menus and arguing with map apps. The missing piece wasn't a slicker booking site. It was a person.

  • Matched on interests

    Not a list of dates. A real person who cares about the same food, art, gadgets, or hikes you do.

  • Casual, not commercial

    Locals here aren’t licensed tour operators. They’re neighbors who’d show a visiting friend around the same way.

  • Earned trust

    Reviews only surface once a profile has enough interactions. First impressions stay honest.

The team

Two people. One city. A second one soon.

Bryan Wang

Bryan Wang

CEO · Shenzhen

Native Chinese but have spent 8+ years in Canada. I love both countries 🇨🇦🇨🇳 Comfortable with adventure and meeting new people 🚵‍♂️ Currently based in Shenzhen — a coffee or a walk around the city on the weekend would be nice ☕🚶‍♂️

Takahiro Inaba

Takahiro Inaba

CTO · Toronto

Engineer from Japan, based in Toronto after ten-plus years in software. I build and look after everything technical here — the bookings, the payments, the page you are reading 💻

Off the clock

Bryan and Takahiro by the water at sunset
Sunset by the lake
Bryan and Takahiro over Korean BBQ
Plotting over Korean BBQ
Every good day we've had in a new city started the same way: someone who lived there said, “come on, I'll show you.”

Come along while it's small.

Pilot pricing, founder-level attention to every new sign-up, and a roadmap shaped by what early users ask for.

From a friendSplitWhomBBQs, parties & trips — buy together, then track who paid what and settle up automatically.
Try it