Daytripper is a regular column that aims to help people get the most out of their PRD experience by proposing fun excursions that can be made in a single day to explore the local culture and nature of the region.
It seemed the ideal getaway: water park, hot springs, lakeside cabins and pleasure cruises, plus lessons in landscape painting and virtual reality pods to let you escape into the sky or under the sea.
Tucked in Shenzhen’s northern reaches, it’s a mere RMB38 to enter the park (RMB20 after 5pm) with another RMB130 for the water park (RMB110 on weekdays). Inside, Buddhist chants fill the air, as boats meander past dockside cabins where holidaymakers can spend a night or two (starting RMB388).
Image by Adam Robbins/That's
Many families do just that, and there are countless kids scampering along the waterway. They fill the pool and, as we reach the arcade cacophony before the water park, the presence of children becomes overwhelming. Sharing waterslides and wading pools with them is about as fun as you’d imagine.
What started seven years ago as a tranquil retreat with peaceful fishing along the lake has sunk under the tread of boats and boisterous schoolchildren. If there were vestiges of the old Hakka culture, those, too, are lost. At the nightly performance, aggressive, auto-tuned Chinese pop music indicates the start of a ‘variety show’ of women in costumes better suited to Brazil's Carnival. They endeavor to dance, but the weight of the ruffles allows only an out-of-sync shuffle.
Image by Adam Robbins/That's
Guanlan’s once-promising retreat has descended to incoherent madness. In the decaying concrete of the place – recreating trees and cranes and more – we see the frosting of a Havisham cake, once charming but left out too long in the rain. If you stumble on this ramshackle tragedy, say a prayer for what it used to be.
How to get there:
Take Shenzhen Metro Line 4 to the Qinghu terminus, then catch the M339 bus to the Junzi Bucun Kou stop, followed by a 10-minute walk. Or catch a 35-minute Didi from Qinghu.
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[Cover image by Adam Robbins/That's]
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