Compared with its neighboring cities, Shenzhen does not have many natural scenic spots. Shenzhen people, however, are just clever enough to make money from thousands of willing travellers by establishing some artificial ones.

The best of these is probably the China Folk Culture Villages, a place that incorporates 24 ethnic minority villages from throughout China in downtown Shenzhen. Albeit bizarre to some degree here, you will have the opportunity to admire the ethnic architectural styles, customs and traditions of China and it can be quite fun.

Also good is the Xiaomeisha Tourist Resort, where, on the most sweating summer days, you may enjoy water sports and sun bathe to your heart's content.

For businessmen who spend days trying to outwitting potential competitors, the Shiyanhu Hot Spring Holiday Villa offers all the relaxation that you could desire, refreshing body and soul. Also in this vein, the Guanlan Golf Club is a great place for a few rounds with business partners, which, admittedly expensive, will help you enlarge your fortune by clinching a new deal.

The climate here also makes cities like Shenzhen ideal for many types of vegetation, as a result of which flocks people go to the Botanical Gardens, which boasts numerous exotic flowers and rare herbs.

Guanlan Golf Club

The Golf Courses in Shenzhen are pretty popular with Hong Kong residents. The greens and fairways here are greener and better maintained than those in Hong Kong and the prices are reasonable. As a result, you can usually get a nice game here and this course is also popular with visiting business travelers.

The Guanlan Golf Club has also been recognized by the PGA and the two courses here were designed by the Championship golfer, Jack Nicklaus. The club also have a good practice driving range.

The entertainment and recreation facilities here include a pleasant dining hall, gymnasium, billiards room, hot spring bathroom, sauna room, and tennis court and badminton room. There is a nice lake where guests can boat, surf or swim and also an outdoor pool! The Guanlan Lake Golf Club Holiday Inn has 225 luxurious guestrooms which allow you to enjoy all these great facilities on your doorstep.

Honey Lake Holiday Village

The Honey Lake Holiday Village lies in the west of Shenzhen. The Village is a collection of accommodation buildings and gardens and a huge entertainment park. The accommodation here is scattered about the quiet and pleasant grounds, sheltered by trees and flowers.

There is also an well equipped amusement park here which has land, aquatic and air sports facilities and an indoor skating rink.

Litchi Park

It is situated in Futian District, Litchi Park is a pleasant urban park composed of many pretty pavilions and landscaped gardens.

There are some nice palms here and the park is a good place to do some people watching and escape the traffic.

Lanterns are lit in the park during the New Year period when the place looks especially attractive.

Nan'ao Bay

The seafood from Nan'ao Bay is exceptionally fresh and tasty and this is a great area to sample some more unusual sea creatures! The sea here is teeming with rare sea animals including abalone and sea urchin.

This is also a pleasant district to wander and explore. The atmosphere is lively and vibrant as the fish arrives in huge nets from ships and is thrown onto the docks and most of the residents here survive on the income they make from the sea. The beach here is pleasant too and the bay looks over to Hong Kong only 1,000 meters across the water.

Shiyanhu Hot Spring Holiday Villa

Shiyanhu Hot Spring Holiday Villa is famous for its beautiful lake and ancient Yulu Hot Spring. The hot spring has a constant temperature of a pleasant 67.3 degrees C and is filled with minerals and herbs that are said to be beneficial to the skin and especially helpful to those suffering from rheumatism.

Outdoor recreation includes motor boating, horse riding, tennis, archery and skiing. There is also a first class swimming pool at the complex.

Splendid China

Splendid China is located next to China Folk Culture Villages and the Window on the World and is a fun entertainment complex. Here, the focus is on miniature Chinese sites, intended to reflect the history, culture, art, ancient architecture and customs and habits of various nationalities in China in a display of some of China's most famous sites and life sized pottery animals and figures. The delicate gardens of Suzhou are mimicked here, as is the Great Wall.

There is also a traditional shopping street with an endless array of handicrafts and antiques and a restaurant area offering traditional cuisine from throughout the country.

This is an entertaining place and provides some diversion from the gray drabness and serious atmosphere that haunts much of this city.

The Botanical Gardens

The Botanical Gardens are one of Shenzhen's more pleasant areas. The gardens are not spectacular but this large, green and clean space is a refreshing and welcome change from the rest of this concrete city. The gardens cover about 590 hectares and are located in the northeast of the city on Xianhu Road with the majestic Wutong Mountain behind.

The gardens are designed according to traditional principles of Chinese garden design and there are more than 3,000 different types of plant here. The gardens also contain a plant research institute. There are a few nice pavilions scattered about that provide shelter from the sun.

Window on the World

Window on the World is one of three professional Entertainment complexes in Shenzhen. The Window on the World, Splendid China and the China Folk Culture Village are all located close to each other near the Shekou ferry terminal.

This fun place is a collection of famous world sites in miniature. If you don't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris , the Taj Mahal in Dehli or the Pyramids, then you can see them all (in mini) here in an afternoon! The miniature Niagara Falls are more than 80 meters wide and over 10 meters deep and the noise of the water rushing here is deafening.

The collection is divided into various parts based on continents and nations and there are a total of 118 scenic spots here from throughout the world. There are also restaurants and bars here on the International Street where you can sample food and drink from France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Russia, Japan, Thailand, and Korea. There are some tourist shops here too, selling all kinds of souvenirs from destinations throughout the world.

Xiaomeisha Tourist Resort

Known locally as the "Hawaii of the East", Xiaomeisha tourist area is the largest seaside resort in the city. The resort lies to the east of Dapeng Bay, about 30 kilometers from downtown Shenzhen.

This resort is a pleasant area consisting of a vast white beach, a "Sea World" and water sports, accommodation, catering and shopping facilities. The beach sits at the base of a hill and is surrounded by lush tropical forest. A day spent out here can be an enjoyable and fun break from the cement and cranes of Shenzhen.