Meridian View Center 地王大厦– Shenzhen, China

        In the early evening around 6 pm, we set off from Splendid China Folk Village to go to our dream place, Di Wang Da Sha. Joe and I wanted to know what kind of place it is and how it looks like because we did not want to see it only in the movie. Honestly, we had no idea where the building was, so we had to ask for directions. We wanted to find if the building was real, not only a movie fantasy. I was excited to know that the building was real. We took the MTR to go to the tower. After that, we walked for about 10 minutes from the MTR exit. Then, we found it. O thank God. But our stomach was so hungry that we had to have dinner first, a quick one of course because the entrance to the tower would be closed at 11 pm. We hurriedly took the elevator to go to the administration desk. We were very surprised to know that the admission fee was RMB 80 per person. But because we did not want to waste the chance to see the real Di Wang Da Sha, we paid the money. We were then guided by some lady officers to the highest level of the building, the 69th floor. Once the elevator's door was opened, we were too surprised because the real Di Wang Da Sha was not like what we saw in the movie. It was far from our imagination and expectation.

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Splendid China Folk Village 锦绣中华民俗村 – Shenzhen, China

        Do you believe you can actually visit the largest country in the world, China, within only one day? Yes, indeed you can. Let’s find the answer here. Watching Asian drama movies, mainly Chinese movies, has always been my favorite. Driven by the romantic Chinese movie, “Rainbow Sweetheart” featuring Jimmy Lin as the main actor, we were eager to find the building where most of the movie scenes take place, called Di Wang Da Sha or Di Wang mansion. For this reason, after our visit to Hong Kong, we stopped over in Shenzhen. However, the view from the building is at its best at night, so we spent the whole afternoon visiting one of the prime tourist attractions in Shenzhen called Splendid China Folk Village. My boyfriend and mom have visited the site several times so they just accompanied me to go there. The park is very accessible. You only need to take the MTR and get off at the Window of the World Station and you can cross the road since the park is just across the Window of the World. We bought the ticket for RMB 120 per person. I tried to find the English guide map but there was none. So, I just took the Chinese version. Although I could read some Chinese but still reading English is much easier for me. 

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Fairy Lake Botanical Garden 仙湖植物园 – Shenzhen, China

         Before going back to Guangzhou, Farida and I spared some time to visit a site we found on the map called Fairy Lake Botanical Garden. Since we did not understand how to get there by MTR, we took a taxi. We arrived at the garden quite late around 3 pm. The admission fee was RMB 20. We then rushed into it to see what was inside.

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Lotus Hill Park 莲花山公园 – Shenzhen, China

         On my second day in Shenzhen after we visited the Honey Lake Resort, Farida and I continued our exploration of the city to a new site called Lotus Hill Park or also referred to as Lian Hua Shan Park. We knew the site from the tourist map. However, we did not understand how to reach there by MTR or bus so we took a cab. The cab fee from the Honey Lake Resort to the park cost around RMB 45, quite expensive compared to cab fee in Guangzhou. The admission to the park is free so everyone can enjoy the natural beauty of it.

        As I strolled around the park, I did not really find something special there and I felt more like walking than climbing the mountain. As far as my eyes could see, there were only trees, green plantations, and bushes. Maybe it was because I visited the park in the winter. I just noticed that the best time to visit it is summer when hundreds of phoenix flowers come to their full bloom adorning the park with red cloak. Some also say that it is best to visit the park in the late afternoon and early evening.   

 

The tourist map of Lian Hua Shan Park

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Window of the World 世界之窗 – Shenzhen, China

        Shenzhen is well known for its industries and economic development. Due to the strong influence from its neighbor, Hong Kong, the city ranks the third place of the three most developed cities in China after Shanghai and Guangzhou. As the Special Economic Zone of China, Shenzhen now has grown into a thriving big city with many skyscrapers. It is also an industrial city where countless of items are manufactured here. Besides that, it also has some fabulous theme parks and tourist attractions which one of them is Window of the World.

         In January 2010, I visited Window of the World with my friend Farida. We took express train from Guangzhou. The journey lasted for two hours. The express train that connects Guangzhou-Shenzhen is a clean and air-conditioned train with cozy seats. Two hours sitting inside the train were only a short time. We then got off the train and took the MTR to go to the hotel located near the famous Window of the World. After looking for some directions, we finally found the hotel. I forgot the name but it was quite cheap, only 100 RMB per night. Though the hotel was not as clean as a five-star hotel, we found it quite comfortable. After putting down our baggage, we quickly went to the Window of the World. It was winter and there were not many people. The ticket cost around 140 RMB per person.

 

 

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Xiaomeisha Beach 小梅沙海滩 – Shenzhen, China

         My friends, I have finished talking about places I have visited in Hong Kong. Now, let’s follow me to explore Shenzhen, one of the busiest port cities in China that is located on the Pearl River Delta. The first time I visited Shenzhen was summer 2009 when my church friends asked me to join them in a tour to a beach in Shenzhen called Xiaomeisha. Initially, they decided to have this trip to gather Indonesian students who stayed in Guangzhou during summer holiday. I also invited my brother, who at that time was spending his holiday in Guangzhou, to join us. We then joyfully headed to the beach by a rented van.  Along the journey, we sang Christian songs happily, talked to each other and laughed together. 

Hanny, Farida, Fanny, Fali, Ci Lily and I in the van. Girls power… hahaha

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