Visit us in Shenzhen

Come to Dafen —
paint a canvas, or walk the village with us

Two ways to visit. Sit down for two or three hours and paint your own canvas to take home. Or, if you buy art for a living, spend half a day inside the studios and watch a bulk order being made — then get a quote in person, the same day.

Book a visit on WhatsApp What a trade visit covers

Free to enter the village · Metro Line 3, Dafen station, Exit A1 · Five minutes' walk to our studio

Pick your visit

Two very different half-days

Some people come to paint. Some come to check whether the factory behind the website actually exists. Both are worth the trip, and both are easier than visitors expect.

For travellers, families, teams

Paint your own canvas

No experience needed and nothing to prepare. You get a primed canvas, paints, brushes, an apron and a working painter sitting next to you rather than a video on a loop.

  • 2–3 hours, at your pace
  • Choose your own subject, or be guided through one
  • You take the canvas home — we pack it flat for the flight
  • English and Mandarin spoken
  • Good for families, couples, and team days

Ask about a session

For importers, designers, hotel purchasing

Walk the supply chain

If you are going to place a bulk order, come and see where it will actually be painted. Half a day, no obligation, and you leave with a quote rather than a business card.

  • Half day or full day, planned around your schedule
  • Studio floor: painters at work, live, not staged
  • Sample wall — finishes, surfaces, sizes side by side
  • Colour matching to your fabric or paint chip, demonstrated
  • Packing, corner protection and QC, before your eyes
  • Frame workshop and canvas supplier, if you want the full chain
  • Quote the same day

Arrange a trade visit

The village

Shenzhen's most unlikely neighbourhood

Dafen began as a village of a few hundred residents and became one of the largest concentrations of working painters anywhere. The alleys are still alleys — paintings leaning against doorways, a framer's workshop next to a noodle shop, and the Dafen Art Museum at the end of the lane.

Monument stone at the entrance to Dafen Oil Painting Village
The village monument stone
Dafen Art Museum building in Shenzhen
Dafen Art Museum
Old cobblestone alley in Dafen village
Old village alley
Orange graffiti wall in Dafen Oil Painting Village
Street murals
Bougainvillea flowering on a Dafen street
Bougainvillea lanes
Giant paintbrush sculpture in Dafen village
The giant brush
Venus statue in a Dafen village square
Village square
Street signs in Dafen Oil Painting Village
Studio lanes

Photographs of Dafen Oil Painting Village, Shenzhen. The village is free to enter and no booking is needed to walk around; the museum is free and closes on Mondays.

Getting here

Easier than most visitors expect

Dafen sits in Buji, Longgang district, in the north-east of Shenzhen. It is on the metro, it is free to enter, and you do not need to book anything just to walk around.

METRO

Line 3, Dafen station

Take Shenzhen Metro Line 3 to Dafen station and leave by Exit A1. Walk straight on for five to seven minutes and you reach the village gate.

ADDRESS

Where to find us

Dafen Oil Painting Village, Buji, Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China 518112. Message us on WhatsApp when you are close and we will meet you at the gate.

FROM HONG KONG

Cross at Futian or Huanggang

Both crossings put you on the metro network into Shenzhen. From Futian port it is a straightforward interchange onto Line 3. Allow an hour door to door.

FROM THE AIRPORT

Bao'an, by metro or taxi

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport is on Line 11; interchange to Line 3. A taxi is simpler if you have luggage or samples with you.

OPENING

When to come

The village streets are open all day and free. Dafen Art Museum: 9:30–17:30, closed Mondays, free entry. Weekday mornings are quiet; weekends are lively and better for photographs.

PRACTICAL

What to bring

Comfortable shoes and a phone that can take photographs of what you like. For a painting session, wear something you do not mind getting paint on — we supply the apron.

Trade visits

What the half-day actually covers

This is the visit for people who will place an order. Nothing is staged for it — you see the same floor, the same painters and the same packing your order would go through.

01

Your brief, in person

Bring photographs of the space, dimensions and quantities. Twenty minutes at a table saves two weeks of messages.

02

The studio floor

Painters at work on live orders — including, if one is running, the kind of bulk order you are considering.

03

Sample wall

Surfaces, impasto levels, finishes and sizes side by side, so "textured" stops being a word and becomes a choice.

04

Colour to your material

Bring a fabric swatch or paint chip. We mix against it while you watch, so you can see how a match is actually reached.

05

QC and packing

Corner protection, boxing, crating for large pieces — the part that decides whether your order survives the journey.

06

Quote, same day

A written quote before you leave: per-piece price, framing, packing and freight to your door.

Planning a bulk order? Read the wholesale page first → so your visit starts from a real brief.

FAQ

Questions visitors ask

Do I need to book?

Walking around the village needs no booking. A painting session or a trade visit does — message us on WhatsApp with your preferred date and how many people.

Do you speak English?

Yes, English and Mandarin. For trade visits we will have the painters' explanations translated so you are not guessing.

I have never painted. Is that a problem?

No. Most people who book a session have not painted since school. A painter sits with you the whole time.

How much does a session cost?

It depends on canvas size and group size, so we quote it rather than publish a price. Message us and we will tell you the exact figure before you commit.

Can I bring a group or a team?

Yes. Tell us the number in advance so we can set up enough easels and assign enough painters.

Can I buy on the day?

Yes for stock pieces and reproductions. For custom or bulk work we quote in writing and take it through the normal 70/30 process.

Book it

Tell us when you are coming

WhatsApp is fastest and gets an answer the same day. Include your date, how many people, and whether you want to paint or to see the trade floor.

WhatsApp us dafenarthub@gmail.com Wholesale & trade supply
The Dafen Authority
A working studio inside the world's largest oil painting village — not a remote trader.
10 yrsOperating in Dafen since 2016 — real studio, real warehouse, real artists on payroll
50+Partner artists across styles — masters, mid-career and emerging painters
3,000+Finished paintings in stock — ready to ship or pick up today
20+Export countries — galleries, hotels and retailers we ship to regularly
Member · Dafen Art Industry Association Exhibitor · Shenzhen International Art Expo
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