Playtimes HK Magazine June 2017 Issue | Page 59

Window of the World Window of the World open-market economy. As a result of the flow of people from other parts of China searching for a better life, less than ten per cent of the population in Shenzhen is originally from the city. This explains why Mandarin rather than Cantonese – the main language of Guangdong Province – is spoken there. Shenzhen is the perfect place to entertain the children, get your shopping fix and practice the family’s Mandarin. And it’s all less than two hours away. Shenzhen is a new city. Most of the entertainment for the population was artificially introduced in the form of theme parks – and lots of them! Splendid China 錦綉中華 (jǐn xiù zhōng huá) is a theme park that scales down China’s monuments to a manageable size. You and the kids can spend a couple of hours exploring the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta warriors, Li River and more. Splendid China is suitable for younger kids and their older siblings. It’s very easy to get to: just a 20-minute taxi ride from Lo Wu station, or five-minutes taxi from Shenzhen Bay checkpoint. The average visit takes around two- to three hours. Window of the World 世界之窗 (shì jiè zhī chuāng) is next door to Splendid China. Many visit the two parks on the same day, but I wouldn’t recommend it with young children. Some of the world’s most famous monuments are replicated here, Window of the World Splendid China Splendid China