Window of the World

After two days of using it to get around, I've now decided that perhaps the Shenzhen city bus is my favorite mode of transportation here. You can ride all the way across town for $1 US, or you can cruise around the local Nanshan district here for under $0.25 US. If you can stand the occasional crowd and small seats, it works wonders.

This morning I hopped the 113 to Window of the World, Shenzhen's premier tourist attraction. In a city developed entirely in the last 30 years, there are few historic sites. Therefore Shenzhen has built several interesting theme parks to keep the crowds entertained.

I won't be able to do the park justice, but Window on the World features miniature versions of dozens of world landmarks. The scale is inconsistent, so you spend all day towering over some things, and gazing up at others, but the place as a whole is a hoot.

Here is a woman attempting to sit on Angor Wat, one of Cambodia's finest historic sites:

The Taj Mahal:

The Sydney Opera House:

And Niagara Falls (doubling as a drain for the toilets, no doubt):

The whole things was fascinating. I even took the plunge and ventured to the top of the 1/3 scale Eiffel Tower, which can be seen for miles. Here's a view of Shenzhen from above:


Interestingly, the Manhattan skyline still featured the WTC, so it is apparently in the process of being redone in another location in the park. They're also adding the Golden Gate bridge and numerous other attractions.

My picture didn't turn out, but they also have an indoor ski center. It was short, steep, and featured some sort of icy frozen substance. People were careening down it at high speed. I considered making a few runs, but decided that without having mapped out the location of the nearest ER, I'd better pass. Overall though, this was a delightful, if not rather bizarre, experience.