Huawei recently announced the new Pura series which replaces the legendary P series. The first members of the HUAWEI Pura 70 series includes the Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro, Pura 70 Pro+, and Pura 70 Ultra in China and locally, includes the Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro, and Pura 70 Ultra.
Ahead of the local launch, we were invited, along with a couple of media, to China to experience the new series as well as give us a tour of the Huawei campus and a peek into the city of Shenzhen, China.
Here’s how my experience went as someone who has never been to China with photos taken on the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro to help visualize the experience.
Discovering China with the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro
Arriving in a New Land
We arrived at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and while we didn’t have the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro upon landing, the two-hour drive to Shenzhen gave us a nice snippet of what was coming.
Despite the seemingly long journey to get to our hotel, there’s always a sense of wonder when traveling to a new place. It was refreshing to be on a highway and see houses, farmland, industry, and a lot of green nature that separates these.
I may not know much about cars but I enjoyed seeing the wide variety of cars on the road – from the more typical sedans and vans to electric vehicles (EV).
Capturing these scenes was so much easier when we got the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro as the computational photography and AI were able to stabilize the shots even while the coaster was moving.
I was even able to take photos of the traffic or just the scenery ahead of us just to change things up. Doing so was such a breeze even when I was in the second to the back row thanks to the 10x zoom capabilities of the device.
A Teaser to the Huawei Campus
The second day was when the fun began, it was not only our first full day in China but it was also our first trip to the Huawei Campus. I heard a lot about the campus from our Managing Director, Gian Viterbo as well as fellow media friends and Huawei employees.
Our first stop was an exhibition hall housed in the Shenzhen Campus which had an impressive lobby. This was just the beginning of the trip but I was in full awe of what was in front of us.
The campus also housed one of the biggest flagship stores. The first things that greet you upon pulling up at the store are the Luxeed and Aito EVs powered by HarmonyOS.
If these don’t impress you, you can go straight through, and watch the space open up to an atrium where the company holds events and workshops. From here, you can take a left to see all the device from the company. This includes TVs, laptops, smartphones, smartwatches and fitness bands, and tablets.
Of course, the HUAWEI Pura 70 series took center stage with the entire family in full display along with the different cases you can get.
We rounded out the morning with lunch at a restaurant on the campus, yes you heard that right, a restaurant. It’s one of many that you can choose from.
From One Flagship to Another
The next stop for our first day was The MixC shopping center which also had Huawei’s first direct-sales store in the world. It opened in September 28, 2019 and covers an area of 1,300 square meters.
Despite how busy the shopping center can get, your eyes are just drawn to the Huawei store with its three floors and glass that drapes over its shape.
What truly drew me in was the glass around the second level that angled downwards to hug the first floor and create a smooth and clean shape.
Like the flagship store in the campus, The MixC store showcased the EVs and devices. This store, however, has a coffee shop and a smart home setup on the second floor, and a third level that has a business meeting area and an open social area that overlooks some of the shopping area. There’s also a public lecture area with tables and seats along the stairs between the first and second floors.
The store also features a vending machine that’s available 24/7 and offers smartwatches, TWS earbuds, cases, and even power banks.
The rest of Day 2 was supposedly time for us to take pictures in the area but because of the rainy weather, we weren’t able to explore The MixC area as much. But here are some shots I took:
We rounded out the day with dessert and this was the first time for me that I was able to gauge the night-time photography of the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro. It impressed at night, showing good color reproduction while still keeping some of the details.
Deeper into the Huawei Campus
Our scheduled adventure for Day 3 was in the HUAWEI Health Lab and Ox Horn Campus in Dongguan, Guangdong.
The Health Lab in Dongguan is the largest health lab of the company and covers a total area of 4,680 square meters. There are 10+ professional research devices in the testing area to be able to simulate multiple exercise scenarios to help optimize the company’s fitness and health data algorithms.
Among these include a large treadmill for running, biking, skiing, and more; a pool; a ping pong table; a badminton court; a basketball court; an indoor climbing wall; and even a shooting range.
It was at the Health Lab where I took my favorite action shot of the trip – capturing Huawei Consumer Business Group PR Manager Jess up in the air as he looked to smash the shuttlecock across the badminton court.
We spent a majority of the rest of the day touring the Ox Horn Campus which integrates the characteristics of 12 famous European buildings into its buildings. The campus also has a train that connects the different districts of the campus. The entire campus has a total land area of 313 acres.
This was perhaps my favorite part of the trip. As someone who’s never been to the historic cities of Europe and only seen them in photos and media, being able to walk around the Ox Horn campus felt like I was transported to Europe.
It was in the Ox Horn Campus where I was able to capture among my favorite shots. The stunning European-inspired architecture and its reflections in the water made for such picturesque photos. Despite the cloudy weather, the contrast of colors from the buildings and their green backdrops were captured beautifully by the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro.
After a long walk around, we were treated to a ride on the train that runs around the campus. The train itself looked like it was taken from the Harry Potter series. The ride allowed us to not only cool down and take a break but also allowed us to see the surrounding area of the campus.
The Return to The MixC
The fourth day was spent mostly inside the Shenzhen campus for a session. At the end of the day though, we were given the opportunity to take photos and unbox the HUAWEI Puro 70 Ultra.
If you haven’t watched our unboxing, here it is:
As we pulled up to the shopping center, it was 10x busier than our first time as this time around, it was a weekend.
And the Huawei Concept Store looked packed with people and families crowding over the new devices.
A Taste of Shenzhen and Its History
Our last full day in Shenzhen was the most relaxed with a tour of the city. We started by exploring a small part of Dafen early in the morning and while shops were just opening, walking among the houses and establishments felt a bit more ‘normal’.
It also allowed us to take photos on foot which meant taking in the colorful buildings with some paintings on display. It wasn’t quite the clearest of skies but I still enjoyed taking photos on the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro while walking at my own pace.
This was perhaps the area where I used the ultrawide photo the most just because I wanted to get the towering apartments in my shot while also capturing a bit of the street. Thankfully, the ultrawide camera of the Pro variant is a pretty capable snapper, hardly ever washing out the colors.
We then had lunch and then I was among those that decided to visit the Shenzhen Museum of History and Folk Culture. This is one of the four museum sites in the Shenzhen Museum in the Shenzhen Civic Center. The exhibit we visited covered the history of the city – from its agricultural roots to its modernization.
Most of the exhibit was understandably in Chinese, but I enjoyed the exhibit nonetheless as I was able to see different paraphernalia and documents that shaped the city to what it is today. Among my favorites were the wooden irrigation system and the wax display of what would’ve been the setup crossing from Shenzhen to Hong Kong back in the day.
Another cool feature was the torches used in the 2018 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, 2009 Asian Games held in Guangzhou, and Summer Universiade 2011 held in Shenzhen.
We closed out our day tour of the city in the Splendid China Folk Village which has different Chinese attractions that have been reduced to a 1:15 scale. These include the Great Wall of China, Potala Palace, and more. Moreover, it also gave us a peek into the different minority ethnic cultures in the country.
The village also had a show which showcased the different cultures of China. I used it as an opportunity to take even more photos with the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro at 3.5x and even at 10x zoom. I took photos as well at different lengths but among my favorites were at 3.5x and 10x.
Here they are:
As someone who’s never been to China, this trip made me want to return and maybe even explore the other cities. I think Shenzhen is a pretty good start to a trip to China as it is a younger city. While as a Filipino-English speaker, the language barrier is still there, you can fall back to phones like the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro and their Translation app to at least help you communicate with people.
I am truly grateful to be among those to be among those included in the trip this year. Moreso, to be among the first in the country to experience the newly rebranded HUAWEI Pura 70 series.
As I mentioned in my First Impressions article, I found myself using the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro more than the Sony ZV1. Not only was it more convenient for someone who enjoys automatic shooting on a smartphone, but there was also the flexibility of being able to shoot near, pretty far, and wide while maintaining quality across the board.
Let’s not forget that the camera prowess of the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro, despite using a sample unit, was already impressive enough. With the device recently announced in the Philippines, I wouldn’t mind having even the Pura 70 Pro on another trip to capture the moments, even those in transit.
To learn more about the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro and its siblings, you can visit the official website here.
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
