Bay Glory Ferris Wheel, Shenzhen

How much are Bay Glory tickets?

An adult ticket costs ¥140–150, more on Chinese public holidays (it was ¥180 at opening). Children 1–1.4 m tall and over-65s pay a concession fare of about ¥80, and one child under 1 m rides free with each adult. These are unofficial figures from ticketing platforms; prices vary by day and promotion.

There’s no ticket booth at the wheel. At opening, tickets were sold only through the OCT-OH-BAY WeChat account; today Trip.com and Klook sell them in English, and Chinese platforms such as Qunar list a cheaper overseas-visitor fare of about ¥125 — bring your passport, which is what qualifies you for it. Couple and family tickets, annual passes and whole private capsules (popular for birthdays and proposals) are also sold.

To pay in China, link your Visa or Mastercard to Alipay or WeChat Pay with your passport — that’s how most visitors pay for everything, including the metro. Booking on Trip.com or Klook with your card before the trip is the simplest option if you haven’t set the apps up yet.

Is Bay Glory worth it?

YesGo’s take: yes, for sunset. Bay Glory stands right on the water at Qianhai Bay, where it opens to the Pearl River estuary (Lingdingyang), and there are no towers to the west — so you get open water to the horizon and the sun dropping into it. It’s the best sunset-over-water view in Shenzhen.

It’s less convincing as a city view. The wheel is in Bao’an, far west of the centre, and you see Qianhai’s new towers rather than Futian’s skyline; for height and the downtown panorama, the Ping An Finance Centre observation deck is the better pick. Coming from eastern Shenzhen, the trip there takes longer than the ride itself — combine it with Nanshan sights or a flight from Bao’an airport.

The wheel itself was built by OCT and opened on 18 April 2021. Its 113.3 m rim carries 28 elliptical capsules glazed all round, each with 16.8 m² of floor — enough to walk from window to window rather than sit in one spot. At night the rim, axle and capsules light up.

What you see from the top

• Qianhai Bay and the Pearl River estuary — open water and shipping lanes to the west; the money shot at sunset.
• Qianhai’s new towers — the business district to the east, lit up after dark.
• Binhai Culture Park and OH Bay below — lawns, the waterfront promenade and the curving paths you see in this page’s photo.
• The coastal expressway — a ribbon of traffic along the shore, striking at dusk.
• The wheel in lights — best photographed from the promenade after your ride.

Best time to ride

Board 40–60 minutes before sunset. You go up in daylight, watch the sun set over the estuary near the top, and come down with the towers lit. The wheel faces open water to the west — that’s what makes it. Check the sunset time on your phone’s weather app on the day.

Weekdays are quieter than weekends. On public holidays the wheel stays open later but queues and prices go up. Avoid Tuesday mornings entirely. On hazy days the daytime view is flat, so go late for the lights instead.

Viewpoints in Shenzhen

Shenzhen’s viewpoints scored by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

How to do it right

• Book the slot nearest sunset in the morning — on weekends the best times go first.
• Stand at the west-facing glass for the water and the sun; shoot the towers on the way down.
• Press your phone against the glass to cut reflections from the capsule lights.
• Walk the Binhai Culture Park promenade afterwards — the lit wheel looks best from below.
• Eat on the OH Bay shopping street beside the wheel rather than heading back to the centre hungry.
• Flying out of Shenzhen in the evening? Do the wheel last — the airport is four metro stops away with one change.

Questions