12 Best Places to Visit in Shenzhen for First-time Visitors

Overseas Chinese Town East, or OCT East for short, is a quite large tourist place in Shenzhen as well as a Shenzhen must go place, where you can have fun from morning till night. You may find the theme parks, resort hotel, tourist towns in European style there. In the Knight Valley, you can get relaxed by the wood coaster, indoor surfing, drift river, flume ride and more exciting rides. You can also watch the Brid Art Show, see the giant waterfalls, and so on. Entering the Tea Stream Valley on higher position, a large colorful flower field would come into your sight first, and then Interlaken Town would make you feel like being under the Alpines. At Ancient Tea Town, you can learn Chinese culture while tasting the fresh tea. Want to see vast area of tea trees? Then you may go to the Sanzhou Garden.

Dameisha Seaside Park or called Dameisha Beach, the best beach in the region, is absolutely one of the must Shenzhen places to visit. The park is divided into different zones for swimming, water sports, barbecue, leisure activities, etc. You can swim and play the water sports like jet skiing and parasailing in the sea; enjoy the sunlight bath, play beach volleyball and have a barbecue party on the soft beaches; and stroll along Seaside Plank Road to enjoy the beautiful seascapes. With so many fun things to do, no wonder it is among the Shenzhen best places to visit.

See Also: Find the Most Beautiful Shenzhen Beach Destinations

Endowed with beautiful sub-tropical sceneries, Lianhua Hill Park is one of the best places to see in Shenzhen. You can enjoy a leisurely walking along the trails in the park. After reaching the top of the hill, you will find the highest outdoor square in Shenzhen with the statue of the former national leader Deng Xiaoping. It is also the best position to overlook the panorama of surrounding Futian CBD and the night view is especially beautiful. You can also feed the fishes in the pool, and go boating on the artificial lake. In summer, flame trees flower all over the park, making it a beautiful red sea of the blooming flowers.

This is the largest and longest beach in Shenzhen, and has been praised to be one of the most beautiful beaches in China. Located at the southernmost point of Dapeng Peninsula, the original seaside landscapes make Xichong Beach a fairy place to go in Shenzhen. It is popular to hike between the coasts of Xichong and Dongchong, especially for outdoor enthusiasts to appreciate the seaside scenery and subtropical woods. It’s also a good place for camping, swimming, fishing by speedboat, surfing, picking up shells, and so on. You can also take a boat to the Lover Island about 1 nautical mile away, where the large mangrove forest will surprise you.

As a sought-after theme park, Happy Valley should be counted in the best places to visit in Shenzhen. There are various facilities for you to have fun inside. If you young people would like to seek thrill, the flume ride with the world’s largest drop, bungee jumping from the elevated tower, diverse roller coasters... are considerable to play. If you go there with kids, the merry-go-round, laser bumper car, Adventure Hill with rope net for climbing, and 4D Movie Theatre, etc. are all nice choices. Besides, Happy Valley is popular for lovers to have a romantic date.

 Recommended Tour:  3 Days Independent Shenzhen Exploration

To learn the different landscapes and multitudinous nationalities of China, Splendid China - Folk Culture Villages is the Shenzhen must visit place. In the Splendid China area, you will get to see the miniaturized landscapes of the most famous attractions around China, including Ming Tombs, Potala Palace, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Yellow Mountain, Slender West Lake, Fujian Tulou... As for in the Folk Culture Villages, you can see the traditional costumes, houses and folk performances of the different nationalities; among them the music and dances of Yi, Miao, Li, Uygur, Tibetan are very impressive.

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 Recommended Tour:  2 Days Private Tour of Shenzhen from $319

Wutong Mountain is the highest mountain in the city with lush plants, colorful flowers, clear lakes, streams, waterfalls, etc., thus listed as one of the places to visit in Shenzhen China, especially for mountaineers. People usually hike to the summit. Standing on the mountain top, you can witness the misty scenery of the whole mountain. Fairy Lake Botanical Garden with well-grown plants and the famed Hongguang Temple at the foot of Wutong Mountain are also highlights.

Yangmeikeng is a primitive seaside valley, praised as the most beautiful valley in this city. Compared with other Shenzhen tourist destinations, Yangmeikeng is more peaceful for it is less touched by human beings. For the magnificent scenery and romantic vibe, couples love to take their wedding photos there. You may take a yacht to cruise on the offshore sea, cycle along the coastal roads to enjoy the seascapes, or hike to the top of the seaside hill to get a bird’s eye view of this place. After the visit, you are highly recommended to go to the nearby fishermen’s houses to taste the freshest seafood.

Among the Shenzhen best places to visit, Shekou Sea World is a special one for it was built centering on Minghua Ship berthed on Shekou Port. During Deng Xiaoping’s inspection tour in Shenzhen in 1984, he wrote the dedication “Sea World” for the ship. Since then, it has become famous as a grand entertainment center. People often go there at night, when the bright and colorful lights make the ship looking like a splendid palace. At night in this Shenzhen visiting place, you can have fun in bars and enjoy the music fountain. The cafés and restaurants will also offer you the delicious food from all over the world.

Chung Ying Street is a famous shopping area. What makes this place to visit near Shenzhen more interesting is that it is the epitome of the unique Chinese policy: One country, two systems. The eastern side of this narrow street belongs to Shenzhen which adopts socialism system and the western side belongs to Hong Kong where capitalism system controls. The houses on two sides are obviously different, but the daily commodities, foods, makeups, and more goods from the world are sold on both sides. The Chung Ying Street Museum nearby is worth a visit, to learn the history of this special street and the “One country, two systems” in depth.

Dapeng Fortress is a small ancient fortress for coast defense in Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911 AD), with a history of more than 600 years. As the best-persevered ancient fort town on coastal line in China, it is worth being listed among Shenzhen must visit places. In this architectural complex, you will see the old stone city gates, traditional dwellings, granary sites, and stately residences of the generals’ and officers’ families who garrisoned there from generation to generation.

Shenzhen Bay Park is a quite long park along the bay. What makes it a nice Shenzhen place to go is the astonishing seaside landscapes. You may take a leisurely walking or have a cycling trip to enjoy the scenery. Some people would go there to see the sunrise and sunset on the sea and photograph seabirds, too. Up to night, you can see the gorgeous night views of Hong Kong opposite to the bay.