Attractions -- Theme Parks
Theme Parks in the Overseas Chinese Town A magnet for tour groups, the Overseas Chinese Town (Hua Qiao Cheng) in Nanshan District features four distinctive theme parks sitting side by side. A monorail commutes around the parks in the area.
Top1. Chinese Folk Culture Villages
Right next to Splendid China, the folk culture park dazzles with the histories and mysteries of the country's ethnic groups. Scattering around the 180,000-sqm park are 24 villages built in 1:1 ratio, inhabited by real ethnic people who present their traditional arts, customs, languages and cuisines. Traditional culture performances are held there every day. Like Splendid China, the park is also heavily forested.
Hours of Operation: 9:00 -- 21:00
Metro Stop: Hua Qiao Cheng (Exit D), Line 1
Top 2. Window of the World
Like Splendid China, this 480,000-sqm park features more than 130 miniature replicas of scenic and cultural wonders. The difference is that these are landmarks from all over the world. Here you can find the Golden Gate Bridge and the Niagara Waterfall of the United States, the Kremlin of Russia, Italy's Pisa Tower, Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal of India and an Eiffel Tower built in 1:3 ratio.
Although these replicas would probably not attract Western visitors much, the park's daily dance performance and regular carnival-like events are of great fun. Beautifully illuminated at night, it is also an impressive city scene.
Hours of Operation: 9:00 -- 21:00
Metro Stop: Hua Qiao Cheng (Exit J), Line 1
Top 3. Happy Valley
This is a place for kids and families. Usually packed on weekends by families, the fun park offers more than 100 attractions ranging from the thrilling Space Shot to the lovely cartoon-themed events. It also holds daily performances of various themes.
Hours of Operation: 9:30 -- 22:00 (9:00 -- 22:00 on weekends)
Metro Stop: Hua Qiao Cheng (Exit A), Line 1
Other Top Theme Parks
A. Safari Park
The first of its kind in the country, the park is a 120,000-sqm subtropical garden housing nearly 10,000 wild animals and birds of more than 300 species. These include some of the world's rare species such as panda, golden money (golden snub-nosed monkey), antelope, flamingo, red-crowned crane (Manchurian Crane) and Amur Tiger (Manchurian Tiger). The park also offers a variety of circus shows.
Location: By Xili Lake in Nanshan District
B. Minsk World
This is a military-themed park based on a retired aircraft carrier, the Minsk, which was built in the former Soviet Union and was once the world's fifth largest of its kind. Moored at Dapeng Bay now, the vessel houses a military museum highlighting a MiG-23 fighter and other aircrafts. There are also regular Russian dance shows and honor guard performances.
Location: Shatoujiao in Yantian District
Attractions -- Leisure Parks
Want to enjoy the natural beauty while having family fun? Then don't miss these leisure parks.
A. Fairy Lake Botanical Gardens
Also a base for academic research, the 590-hectare park boasts dozens of attractions of natural scenery and botanical mystery. It is home to more than 4,000 species of plants, including some very rare ones. Here you can find gardens of bamboo trees, desert plants, Cycas trees, gymnosperm plants and aquatic plants. Set in the park is also one of the largest temples in Guangdong Province, Hongfa Temple, which attracts many local and Hong Kong Buddhists.
Location: Liantang in Luohu District
B. Evergreen Resort
This 200,000-sqm resort is Shenzhen's first sightseeing farm and well known for its natural beauty and rural settings. It features over a dozen attractions including a tropical forest, a butterfly garden, fishing pools, a pottery house where you can create your own art works and a few fruit farms where you can lease a patch.
Location: Near the Moon Bay (Yue Liang Wan) in Nanshan District
C. Guangming Farm
It is also an ideal resort for people who seek natural beauty and peaceful rural life in the city. It offers a variety of attractions including fruit farms, dairy farms, fishing pools, an archery club, bungee jumping and outdoor barbeque. The park boasts a 300-meter-long grass skating course with a total area of 60,000 square meters, the largest of its kind in China. It also has Asia's largest pigeon garden. In summer, it is a perfect place to pick fresh litchis, Shenzhen's best known fruits.
Location: Guangming Avenue in Bao'an District
D. Waterlands Resort
The resort is a 173-hectare subtropical beach park sitting by the mouth of the Pearl River, which gives visitors a distinctive sea view. Imbedded with many pools and brooks, it features over 10 attractions including a rural village with a traditional winery, a water fun park, a garden of the rare mangrove trees and a museum showing China's history of ecological development.
Location: Shajing in Bao'an District
E. Dameisha and Xiaomeisha Beach Parks
These two parks are decent place to enjoy green mountains, blue sea and golden sand beaches. Dameisha, the bigger one of the two, is a public area, while Xiaomeisha requires a 20-yuan entrance fee. In Xiaomeisha there is an aquarium zoo called Shenzhen Sea World, well stocked with whales, sharks, manatees and showing various aquatic antics. Dameisha features a public garden called Lunar Square with a bar and a restaurant selling Western food.
Location: Near Dapeng Bay in Yantian District
F. Lotus Hill Park
This 166-hectare public park, fully forested, is an ideal place for family fun in the heart of the city. The focal point of the park is a viewing square at the top of the Lotus Hill, which got its name from its shape (like a lotus). The square commands decent vistas of Shenzhen and highlights a statue of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who inspired the creation of the city. Below the hill are a lawn for kite flying and a lake for fishing.
Location: By the western part of Hongli Road in Futian District
