Shenzhen Bay Park

Thirteen kilometres of free waterfront with the hills of Hong Kong on the far side of the water, open 06:00-23:00 and made of two parks joined end to end: the Mangrove Coastal Ecological Park, opened December 2000 on land reclaimed for Binhai Avenue, and the Shenzhen Bay Coastal Leisure Belt of 2011. The city parks bureau counts 128.74 hectares and fourteen themed sections strung along the shore - the mangrove park itself, Zhongwan Yuehai Square, Haiyun Garden, Bailupo, Beiwan Lugang, Xiaosha Hill, the 2011 Universiade torch tower, Liuhua Hill, Crescent Valley, Sunrise Theatre, the tidal wetland, the wedding plaza, the viewing pier and the sports plaza - all linked by one continuous walking and cycling system. It is a shore to look at, not to swim from: part of the bay is a year-round no-fishing zone, the mudflats are a feeding ground on the East Asian-Australasian flyway, and the national nature reserve begins at its eastern end.