Is it worth it to go to Shenzhen or Hong Kong to purchase a new Mac? Will it be noticeably cheaper?

HKG
Show your passport, so you can skip the VAT.

SHENZHEN & HKG
Including travel time, lodging, food, transportation costs - unless you have other business in those cities - you can just use taobao (or it's upscale equivalent, tmall) to order from Shenzhen (or shanghai, beijing, etc) with equivalent warranties etc.

If you just happen to be in those cities - then it would be an impulse buy and you'd have to bring all the packaging materials back - although Apple's pretty good at minimalist, but functional packaging.

You can also try price shopping with the pseudo apple stores here - just show the best taobao/360buy/etc price and see if they'll match (usually a waste of time). Kunming also has it's own popular electronics and appliance mail order biz - whose name escapes me at the moment.

But traveling across the country to save a few hundred CNY? I'll just assume you have regularly scheduled biz trips to shenzhen/HKG and this would be convenient - if you can find the apple store(s).

To understand the price differentials - just check taobao for the specific make, model, and features - sort by price, and viola - you'll have the price spectrum - which shouldn't vary by more than a few hundred CNY at most, as Apple tightly controls its distributions of new product.

OTHER ISSUES
If you buy in HKG - you'll get the big ol hunkin and clunky HKG three prong connector, rendering the ultra slim and portable features of the MacBook Pro and Air rather moot.

In HK, the apple's product is tax-free, but many apple stores here in KM will not provide your warranty.For there are only 5 places in mainland of China will give you warranty for sure— that are the offical Apple Stores in Beijing, Shanghai...

In my opinion, Just get one here!
MBP is like 500~1500 yuan(varies from models) cheaper in HK(without tax), but if you buy one in mainland of CN, you get an extra one year global warranty, because according to the new rules of the services from Apple, all iPads, MPBs, MPAs, iMacs get 2 years garantee in PRC. So that is one more year goos stuff than any other couintries.

Plus, when you buying things in HK, you need to pass the government check when going back to the mainland, if you caught not paying tax bring new eletronics, you will be fined with extra.

Ok thanks all!