Shenzhen Adventures: Day 2 - Lunch, Windows of the World and Splendid China

Windows of the World

    After passing through the HK Immigration, our guide waved at us and waited for us to get through the Shenzhen border.  Our first stop: lunch at a restaurant.  It's part of the tour so it's free.  

     While the tour to Shenzhen is free and comes with a group visa plus free lunch, you won't see much,  just a photo ops outside the Windows of the World and the factories, e.g., jade factory, silk factory, etc.  If you want to get inside the Windows of the World and the Splendid China, you have to pay extra.  We paid RMB 300 each for Splendid China which includes tickets to 2 cultural shows and a ride around the park.

Windows of the World

Splendid China

     

Still shots from the first show.

Snapshots from my videos of the Dragon and Phoenix Dance Show

     Having watched the Dragon and Phoenix Dance in 2010, I was slightly disappointed with the performance I watched this February.  It was not as solid a performance as the first time I watched it.  It was still a feast on the eyes, but not as spectacular as I remember it.  I have videos of then and now to compare the performances.

     By the way, it was freaking cold! Way colder due to the open spaces.  Good thing we had some 30 minutes to spare before the Dragon and Phoenix Show to eat some hot meals, like noodles and hot milk tea with tapioca.  Yum!

     I highly recommend, too, those grilled mutton on sticks.  For 3 sticks at RMB 10, you'll get your money's worth!  It's so darn tasty, tender and goes well with a sort of hard naan-like bread sold separately.  You may opt to have it without the spices, like I did if you're not into spicy foods.

Shenzhen Adventure (Part III) - Splendid China and the Dragon and Phoenix Show (with videos)

     

     After going to two factories, the guide told us that she'll accompany us for some shopping.  We told her that we'd like to avail of their services for Splendid China so we'd see the performances later at night.  Touring with them wouldn't be cheap.  They charged us RMB 280 per person inclusive of the ticket for the show.  I know that the entrance is RMB 120, so, assuming the show is RMB 50 for VIP seats, the tour company raked in around RMB 110 per pax.  We'll I don't know if our tickets were VIP because, if not, general admission tickets should have been free. But we're in the middle section, very near the stage, and it was reserved by our guide beforehand, so what do we know? 

     Anyway, what matters is that we had a tour guide who led us to significant places to visit during our short period of roaming around the park.  And we had a chauffeur-driven van.

     According to our guide, the park is divided into two: the wonders of China (I made that description, I forgot how she said it), and the ethnic tribes of China.  We can only choose one because each part would take two hours to visit, and it was 4:00 p.m. already.  We chose the wonders of China.

     Having a tour guide really helps.  They know where to take you the easiest way possible.  We had an expedited wonders of China tour, and she said it was only a third of it.  We got to see the Potala Palace, the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Xian warriors, and many, many more.  The tour guide told us  the names of each sight we visited but I wasn't paying attention, so there. 

     I know, I know.  I'll be in Beijing in two months' time for a six-day trip.  Yup, I'll get the chance to see the Forbidden Palace, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, and of course, the Great Wall of China, among others, for real. But it's still a treat to see these sites' mini-me versions, reminds me of  the former Nayong Pilipino  near the NAIA terminal 1 airport my family used to visit when I was just a little girl.

 

 

     It was nearly nightfall and our much-anticipated activity was about to start.  The highlight of the day: the Dancing of the Dragon and Phoenix performance.  The outdoor theater was packed with Japanese and Indonesian tourists; the stage was huge, and so was the video screen.  We settled in our seats early, and there were security people present to usher guests to their seats.  The video screen was playing snippets of the parks three performances: the Oriental Apparel (or something), the Horse-back Battle, and the Dragon and Phoenix  Show.  I have a video of the Horse-back Battle below (people around us were noisy):

   

     The Dragon and Phoenix Show? It was spectacular!  It had everything: comedy, dancing, folklore, customs and traditions, acrobatics, beautiful people and colorful costumes, fire, water, lanterns, flowers, dragon dance, battle scenes, weddings, feasts, horse-back riding, sheeps, and of course, magnificent fireworks, among others.  For one hour, I was transfixed by the show.  Suddenly, I felt that my RMB 280 was worth it.

    An excerpt from the show: