Tech in the Tropics is a monthly meetup for people working in tech and hardware in Shenzhen. It's held at Brasshouse, a bar in Futian.
The idea
It was started by Joshua Woodard, partner for hardware development at The Sparrows, a Shenzhen manufacturing consultancy. As it's described, it's a monthly space to have a drink, meet people and hear what others are actually working on. It's inspired by the informal tech nights that were common in Shenzhen before COVID (hosted by places like HAX and TroubleMaker), which became rare afterwards.
Where
Brasshouse, Building 150, 1368 International Cultural Street, Shuiwei Village, Futian District (深圳市福田区福田街道水围新村150栋). Futian is central and easy to reach by metro. Huaqiangbei is in the same district.
When
Monthly. We haven't found a public sign-up page with dates yet. Check Events (we'll add dates as soon as they're published), or ask in the Shenzhen hardware community.
Good for
- Meeting founders, engineers and people in the supply chain in a relaxed setting
- Newcomers to Shenzhen looking for an English-speaking tech crowd
- Hearing short, real stories about what people are building
Related
Sources: a public LinkedIn post describing the meetup, thesparrows.co, and the Now Shenzhen directory (venue address), September 2026.
Updated 29 September 2026