Shenzhen
The fourth-tallest building in the world when it topped out in 2015, the Ping An Finance Centre (599m) rises like a glass pencil above Shenzhen's ever-blooming Futian District. The Free Sky Observation Deck offers suitably jaw-dropping views on a clear day.
It might be sobering to note that back in 1979, the city's tallest building was just five storeys. In 2017, Shenzhen built more skyscrapers than any other country; in 2018, still more than any other city in the world.
21.19 MILES
Po Lin is a huge Buddhist monastery and temple complex that was built in 1924. Today it seems more of a tourist honeypot than a religious retreat,…
19.13 MILES
This cable-hauled funicular railway has been scaling the 396m ascent to the highest point on Hong Kong Island since 1888. A ride on this clanking tram is…
18.91 MILES
Standing at 552m, Victoria Peak is the highest point on Hong Kong Island. It is also one of the most visited spots by tourists, and it’s not hard to see…
18.52 MILES
One of Hong Kong’s oldest temples and a declared monument, atmospheric Man Mo Temple is dedicated to the gods of literature (‘Man’), holding a writing…
High Island Reservoir East Dam
23.85 MILES
Handsome architecture, the South China Sea, and 140-million-year-old volcanic rocks make this one of Hong Kong's most breathtaking places. High Island…
18.07 MILES
Prepare to be whisked through millennia of Hong Kong history at this extraordinary museum, starting with prehistory (don't linger, the best is yet to come…
13.45 MILES
Part of Hong Kong Global Geopark, 400-year-old Lai Chi Wo is Hong Kong's best-preserved Hakka walled village and has an intact woodland. With 200 houses,…
17.31 MILES
When night falls and neon buzzes, Hong Kong's liveliest market rattles into life. Covering multiple city blocks from Man Ming Lane in the north to Nanking…
0.77 MILES
The hulking Shenzhen Museum provides a decent enough introduction to Shenzhen's brief but breakneck march into modernity, both before and after the…
2. Museum of Contemporary Art & Planning Exhibition
0.9 MILES
One of those thrillingly space-age, 'only in China' architectural projects, this gargantuan exhibition space designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au anchors…
1.36 MILES
It's an easy half-hour amble up to the top of this tropical hill in the heart of Futian District for Shenzhen's best skyline photographs. Appropriately,…
2.97 MILES
Located between Yuen Long and Sheung Shui, this splendid Mandarin-style building complex dating from 1865 is eclectically fused with western design…
3.09 MILES
When big-city fatigue sets in, you can seek refuge in this spacious inner-city park. It may still get busy but here the mood is created by musicians,…
3.1 MILES
The 270-hectare nature reserve includes the Mai Po Visitor Centre at the northeastern end, where you must register; the Mai Po Education Centre to the…
3.93 MILES
By far the best place for strolling or simply hanging out in the city is the breezy OCT-LOFT complex, a warren of repurposed communist-era factories criss…
4.12 MILES
You could almost be in California at this palm-lined lifestyle complex set around artificial lakes and fountains, offering upmarket dining, nightlife and…