Note: these notes were written while I lived in Shenzhen, mostly between 2008 and 2013, and merged into one guide in 2026. Ticket prices, opening hours, bus numbers and phone numbers will have changed. Shenzhen also has a full metro network now, so many places that needed a bus or taxi back then are reachable by train – check a current map.
Shenzhen is not an old city and it is short on the classic temples-and-palaces sightseeing
you get elsewhere in China. What it does well is large, well-run theme parks, a couple of
genuinely good viewpoints, and green space on the edges of the built-up area. Here is what is
worth your time, roughly grouped by what kind of day out it is.
Theme parks and family days out
Happy Valley
Happy Valley is a large modern amusement park in Nanshan District, Shenzhen. The park is composed of nine areas with different themes:
- Spanish Square
- Cartoon City
- Mt. Adventure
- Gold Mine Town
- Shangri-la Woods
- Sunshine Beach
- Typhoon Bay
- Playa Maya Water Park
- Happy Times.
roller coaster in Happy Valley
How to get there: Close to Window of the World. Probably easiest to take the subway: Shi jie zhi chuang Station (Window of the World Station), Exit A
Buses: 20, 21, 26, 204, 209, 210, 222, 223, 101, 105, 113, 301, 310, 311, 320, 324, 328, 329, 370
Admission fee: CNY 170 (adults), 85 (children 1.1-1.4 meter), free (children below 1.1 meter)
Opening hours: 9: 30-22:00 9:00-10:00 (during weekend, other festival and summer holiday) 8:30-22:00 (from the 1st to the 7th of the first month in lunar calendar; from May 1st to May 7th ; from Oct. 1st to Oct. 7th ) Maya Water Park is only open from May 1st to Oct. 7th every year For more details also see: TravelChinaGuide – Opening Hours Happy Valley
Official website (Chinese)
Splendid China and the China Folk Culture Villages
The first theme park on the Chinese mainland, Splendid China is a great success that led to a rush of theme park construction across the country. The largest miniature park in the world was built on 30 hectares over four years when Ma Chi-man, general manager of China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Ltd., came up with the idea in 1985, after he was asked to develop the OCT area.
Here 84 replicas of ancient Chinese buildings, natural landscapes and folk residences have been constructed on a scale of 1:15. Among them are the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Confucius, and the Three Gorges along the Yangtze. A walk away are the China Folk Culture Villages built two years later, consisting of 24 life-size ethnic villages representing 56 nationalities of China. The two parks merged Jan.1, 2003.
How to get there: Many busses go here, close to Window of the World: Shennan Thoroughfare, OCT, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
Buses: 21, 26, 54, 59, 79, 109, 113, 204, 209, 210, 222, 223, 234, 245, 319, 324, 327, 365, 367, 373
Admission fee: CNY 120 (including the ticket for China Folk Culture Villages)
Opening hours: 09:00 to 18:00
http://www.cn5000.com.cn/english/index.asp
Evergreen Resort
Two weeks ago we went to Evergreen Resort in Nanshan district, situated against Nanshan mountain. I had low expectations, but it turned out to be quite interesting, especially for children. You need to buy tickets in what looks like a small restaurant next to the entrance. Be sure to keep these tickets, because you can later use them in the restaurant for face value!
Children can enjoy themselves very good in the park: they can play traditional games in and there is a big pirateship which is great for children to play on and slide down from. There is a nice butterfly garden where lots of butterflies fly around. There are also several vegetable gardens and fruit trees. For a small fee you can pick your own fruit such as starfruit directly from the tree. Nice for children in a big city who only see fruit in the supermarket!
For kids interested in dinosaurs, you must take them to the special primeval forest with dino statues. Highlight for me was the aquariums with huge fish. They build the aquariums in a semi-natural environment and those fish are about 2 meters long! If you more feel like to catch some (smaller) fish, that’s also possible next to the pirate ship.
my wife and son playing games
Eating: You can use your entrance tickets at the main restaurant (you will see it immediately after you pass the ticket check). It is located in front of an area where you can play games with a huge (fake) tree in the middle. You can also find a small dofu-restaurant here. After your visit to the park, I recommend that you buy some sweet dofu here. Tasted very good.
Verdict: 7 Better than I expected, good if you travel with little kids. Not really recommended for adults wanting to see some Chinese culture though.
How to get there: The evergreen website has directions. There is no subway, so you need to take either a taxi or a bus. I believe we took bus 210 near the entrance back to Futian.
Admission fee: Quite expensive, 60RMB for adults and children over 1.5 meter. For smaller children and adults 65-69 the cost is 30 RMB. Small babies and old people over 70 are free. I think we spend a bit more (85pp for adults), perhaps those are special tickets for eating in the restaurant? Anyway, if you want to eat there, make sure you ask about it!
Opening hours: morning around 9 till evening around 6 (forgot exact times) There are various performances in the park at fixed times throughout the day. Try to plan your visit such that you can see those. We arrived quite late, so there were no performances anymore.
Website: www.evergreen-cn.com
Waterlands Resort
Shenzhen Waterlands Resort is a eco-park in Bao’an district centered around the Chinese wetlands and fishing. It covers an area of 1.7 million square meters and is dotted with lakes, streams, wood and grass. You can go fishing in either salt water or fresh water. There are also botanical gardens, springs, a mangrove area, a group-activity area and some areas for children to play. In “Fun World” you can enjoy many water-related activities such as walking over a chain bridge, a floating bridge etc. Chinese tourists go here to escape from the city and educate their children about nature.
The park also offers several accomodations for the night: from oddly shaped hotels to cabins at the lake (about 500RMB/night).
Waterlands resort, click for an interactive English map
How to get there: Shajin Township, Bao’an District （宝安区沙井镇）
Tel: 2514-2221
Buses: 652, 779, 337 (from Luohu Port and Shenzhen Railway Station) , 338 ( Shenzhen Airport) (chinese map )
Admission fee: 60 yuan/person
Opening hours: 09:00 to 20:00
Views, temples and history
Diwang Mansion (Shun Hing Square)
Diwang Mansion is the highest building in Shenzhen with a height of 384 meters. From the 69th floor you have a great view over the city. I’ve not been here myself, but want to go sometime. Be sure to pick a day with clear skies. In August it is dark around 19:00, so you should arrive before that if you want to see really far away.
Cost: 60 RMB per person
Opening hours: 08:00 to 00:00
How to get there: It is located next to MixC shopping mall
Photo of Diwang Mansion taken from the side of MixC shopping mall
Xianhu Botanical Garden
Xianhu botanical park in Luohu district in the east of Shenzhen is famous for it’s Buddhist temple. Besides a temple, there are also various other things to see and the park is quite large. So large in fact, that I recommend that you take the bus inside the park to the Buddhist temple on a mountain. It saves you lots of time and energy walking up. Afterwards you can walk back down, or also take the bus back. Entrance fee for the botanical garden is 20Y/person and in weekends it can be quite busy.
Entrance Buddhist Temple on a busy day (Spring Festival 2009)
People praying with incense sticks
Flying kite in the park, on the right the Deng Xiaoping tree
Verdict: 7 Nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and even though the temple is not very old, it’s still quite interesting. Always people praying and burning incense.
How to get there: Bus 382, K113 and several other busses go close to the park. At the moment (early 2009) they are renovating the busstops, so the public busses dont park close to the entrance: you need to walk a little bit further.
Cost: 20Y/person entrance fee for the park. Temple is free. Bus costs 2Y/person
Dapeng Fortress
Dapeng Fortress was built over 600 years ago to resist Japanese pirates who’d been harassing the southern coastal areas of Guangdong. However, the fortress is best known as the site of the British Naval attack of September 4, 1839, in which British forces attacked China in what is widely considered the beginning of the Opium Wars. As local legend goes, Chinese troops in fishing boats, led by General Lai Enjue, defeated the better-equipped enemy.
Today, visitors come to the fortress to admire the inside of the walled town.
Verdict: 8?
How to get there: Pengcheng Village, Dapeng Town, Longgang District, Shenzhen
The coast
Sea World, Shekou
The Sea World, which is known for the Minghua ship and the sea world plaza, is offering celebration activities during the Chinese New Year, including performances of Chinese martial arts, lion dances, wooden drum blessing, singing and dancing.
You can also go surfing or fishing there and have a taste of fish, oysters and vegetables that are raised or grown by the employees.
The Minghua ship contains hotels, bars and restaurants from all over the world. Sea world plaza provides room for socializing, entertaining and relaxation. The plaza will be the venue for music and dance shows from various cultures and a fair of food, arts and crafts representing a number of countries.
Tickets: Free
Tel: 2683-9388
Venue: Sea World, Taizi Road, Shekou, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
Buses: J1, 31, 37, 77, K105, K204, 224, 226, 233, 331, 332, 355
Where to stay
Choosing a hotel in Shenzhen
Shenzhen contains many hotels and it can be difficult to decide where to stay. When you are deciding on a hotel, it helps if you know where you want to go in Shenzhen. The city stretches roughly from west to east along the Hong Kong border.
Where to stay for Tourism?
I suggest you stay in Nanshan, Futian or Luohu districts. I think either Nanshan or Futian is fine. Most sights are in those two districts and there are plenty transportation options available.
Where to stay for Business?
Most major factories are located outside the city center, in Bao’an and Longgang or even further away. There are fewer hotels in those areas, so you will likely end up staying in the city and taking a taxi. There is no need to stay in a hotel close to the airport in my opinion.
Which hotel?
There are incredibly many hotels in Shenzhen, mainly middle to high end. It seems not so many low-end hotels (or they are not so easy to find).
Some hotels in Shenzhen include (prices in US $):
Nanshan:
InterContinental Shenzhen ($ 209)
Holiday Inn Donghua Shenzhen ($?)
Kempinski Hotel Shenzhen ($ 142)
Crowne Plaza Shenzhen ($ 181)
Futian:
Marco Polo Shenzhen ($ 136)
Mission Hills Resort at Mission Hills Golf Club ($ 115)
Pavilion Century Tower ($ 106)
Wuzhou Guest House ($ 172)
Shanghai Hotel ($ 76)
Sheraton Shenzhen Futian Hotel ($ 284)
LuoHu:
Crowne Plaza Hotel and Suites Landmark Shenzhen ($ 146)
Holiday Inn Express LuoHu ($ 49)
Days Inn Shenzhen ($ 84)
Shangri-la Hotel Shenzhen ($ 168)
Elsewhere:
Sheraton Dameisha Resort ($ 295)
Where can I find reviews of hotels in Shenzhen?
I have used TripAdvisor’s page for a personal trip to India and it was of great help. They also have a good selection of hotels in Shenzhen available : TripAdvisor Shenzhen