China – April is the Cruellest Month

I haven’t managed to get around Shenzhen as much as I would like but I have definitely managed to hit some of the most famous tourist areas while I’ve been here, one of those being Window of the World! For those not familiar, Window of the World is a tourist spot in Shenzhen where you can walk around and view miniature (though some of the exhibitions are quite large) landmarks from around the world.

At first, I wasn’t sure if the concept was something I’d enjoy, especially for the landmarks that I have actually visited but in fact it was really fun. Not only is it a good walk around the place but if you interested in architecture it is a great way to put together a list of potential places you want to visit while being able to compare architecture across the globe! Also, what monuments are included and how many shows what countries Chinese people are interested in visiting, which I think is really interesting.

Though I should be clear if you are a tourist visiting Shenzhen I don’t know if I’d recommend this, but if you have quite a bit of time in Shenzhen and want a fun half day out then this is it! I would though recommend taking an umbrella for the heat, especially in the summer (though it’s essentially summer all year round here, also always carry an umbrella in South China, as it’s useful for both rain and shine).

The experience

Essentially, Window of the World is kind of a big theme park where instead of rides you walk around and look at different cultural monuments across the globe. There are however rides and extra experiences available along the way (along with plenty of restaurants) but these are at an extra cost.

From what I could see there were also golf carts to hire if you didn’t want to/ are not able to walk around the exhibits.

The exhibits are divided by country/ geographical location but there are some sections, such as a garden with lots of renditions of famous statues (which, was really cool) that contain replicas from lots of different cultures. There is also a dinosaur section randomly enough, partly I think because the experience also focuses on history, but also to appeal to children.

A lot of the exhibitions are really impressive and honestly stunning, I was particularly enthused about the Chinese, Korean and Japanese architecture, as they featured places I have not visited but hope to visit in the future.

Price

££ – While the price of the ticket is about average to cheap for a similar experience in the UK for China it is quite expensive. A day ticket worked out at 220 RMB each for Martin and I.

Day ticket cost: 220 RMB

Rating

3.5 out of 5

Metro stop

Window of the World (lines 1 and 2) – While in Shenzhen I’d definitely recommend downloading the Metro Shenzhen app (it’s in English and really helpful for planning out metro journeys).