Safari Park Shenzhen

A big green forested mountain between Nanshan and Futian, crisscrossed by a huge network of trails. Wildlife on the tree-covered slopes includes butterflies, ferns, lychees, several endangered plants, and lots of birds, especially near the trailhead. Expect lots of stairs, as usual in Shenzhen, but also plenty of benches to rest. The 432-meter peak has great views of the skyscrapers in Nanshan and Futian, the mountains of Hong Kong's New Territories, and Shenzhen Bay. The main paths up to the peak get a good number of visitors, but the other trails are pretty empty. No food or drinks for sale on the trails, so bring everything you need with you.

A large-scale multi-function art center. Don't miss the award-winning Artron Wall, a 30-metre tall, 50-metre wide wall of art books, which is said to be the largest book wall in the world and features over 50,000 art books.

Shenzhen housing developments are often built around beautiful tropical gardens with luxurious club house amenities and one of the most famous of these is Portofino. It is built around a surprisingly attractive imitation of an Italian Piazzetta along a lake which has cafes, bars and restaurants without outdoor seating. Shenzhen's best Cantonese restaurant chain, Laurel, justly famed for the quality of its dim sum, has a branch with outdoor seating here. Be sure to be early. Sunday morning dim sum queues are long.

A classic fun park. It is a lot bigger than Hong Kong Disneyland and many would say a lot better. Divided into theme areas it has the usual fun rides. Try the flume ride but be prepared to get wet. The Playa Maya is an excellent water park built around a Maya architectural theme. There are shows all day and well into the night.

All kinds of contemporary art in a repurposed industrial area.

Travel around the world in one day. This 480,000-m² park has a beautiful natural landscapes and wonderful lighting at night. Inside, you can climb the 1:3 scale Eiffel Tower, go inside the Egyptian Pyramids, see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Mount Fuji, the Buckingham Palace and other famous landmarks. Inside Mount Fuji there's an amusement ride called Fast Fuji, where you snowboard down Mount Fuji and the chairs move with the movie. Inside Mount Rushmore there's also an amusement ride which is similar to Fast Fuji, and its name is Flying Over America, where you see the landmarks of the US on a floating chair. Every night there are spectacular dance shows based on themes of Chinese and world history. Hundreds of dancers perform on the enormous outdoor stage. The performance finishes with a procession and fireworks at 21:00.