# Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen

> Fairy Lake Botanical Garden (仙湖植物园, Xianhu) is a vast garden at the foot of Wutong Mountain in eastern Shenzhen, home to Hongfa Temple, one of the city’s largest Buddhist temples. Tickets are ¥15 from 8:00 to 18:00; entry is free 6:00–8:00 and 18:00–21:30, and the temple itself is free. Allow 2.5–3 hours. Metro: Xianhu Road, Line 2.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen/fairy-lake-botanical-garden

- City: [Shenzhen](https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen), China
- YesGo score: 21/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 2 h 30 min
- Entry: ¥15; free early morning and evening
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Garden ticket: ¥15; ¥5 for children 1.2–1.5 m and students; under 1.2 m free
- Hongfa Temple: Free, no booking on normal days — but you enter through the garden
- Opening hours: Daily 6:00–21:30; paid 8:00–18:00, free outside those hours
- Temple hours: 8:00–18:00
- Where to buy: The garden’s official WeChat account, 深圳市仙湖植物园
- Temple shuttle: ¥3, 7:00–18:00, from the main gate
- Metro: Xianhu Road (仙湖路), Line 2, exit C3 — about 8 minutes on foot
- Time needed: 2.5–3 hours for the temple, lake and cactus dome; a full day for everything
- Address: 160 Xianhu Road (仙湖路160号), Luohu District
- Coordinates: 22.57111, 114.16417
- Facts checked: 05.11.2026

## Key facts

- **¥15** — adult garden ticket; Hongfa Temple inside charges nothing extra (source: Shenzhen Government Online (via search); Travel China Guide; Shenzhen Bendibao)
- **6:00–21:30** — open daily; ticketed 8:00–18:00, free in the early morning and evening (source: Travel China Guide; East China Trip; Shenzhen Bendibao)
- **Line 2** — Xianhu Road station — 9 stops from Civic Center, no change (source: English Wikipedia (Line 2, Xianhu Road station); MTR travel guide)
- **≈ 12,000** — plant species in the garden’s collections (source: Garden website (szbg.ac.cn); MTR travel guide; Travel China Guide)
- **21** — themed gardens, from palms and tree ferns to bonsai (source: Garden website (szbg.ac.cn))
- **546 ha** — area per MTR and English Wikipedia; other sources give 588 and 668 ha (source: MTR travel guide; English Wikipedia)
- **1983** — garden founded; opened to the public in 1988 (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia)
- **1985–1992** — Hongfa Temple built: work began July 1985, consecrated June 1992 (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia)
- **Chan** — Hongfa’s school of Buddhism; founding abbot Master Benhuan (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia)
- **Glass dome** — cacti and succulents grow in a clear hemispherical greenhouse (source: MTR travel guide; Shenzhen Bendibao)

> **Tickets are sold through WeChat** Daytime tickets are sold through the garden’s official WeChat account, **深圳市仙湖植物园**, so set up WeChat Pay with your card before you go. No WeChat? Arrive **before 8:00 or after 18:00**, when entry is free for everyone. Just remember that Hongfa Temple and the greenhouses keep daytime hours only.

## What is Fairy Lake Botanical Garden?

**Fairy Lake Botanical Garden** (仙湖植物园, Xianhu Botanical Garden) is Shenzhen’s main botanical garden and a research garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It fills a valley in Luohu District, on the east side of the city, between Wutong Mountain and Shenzhen Reservoir. It was founded in 1983 and opened to the public in 1988.

Think forested hillsides, a lake in the middle, around 12,000 plant species and 21 themed gardens. Sources disagree on the exact area — anywhere from 546 to 668 hectares — but either way you won’t see it all in a morning. A temple shuttle and a loop bus link the main areas.

Most people come for **Hongfa Temple** (弘法寺), which climbs the slope above the lake in terraces. Construction started in 1985 and the temple was consecrated in 1992; it’s a working Chan Buddhist monastery with dozens of halls and courtyards. The temple is free, but the only way in is through the garden gates.

YesGo’s take: this is Shenzhen’s best green day out, and the one place where a major Buddhist temple sits in forest rather than between towers. It is a half-day trip to the east of the city, though — not worth it for a quick hour.

## How much are tickets and when is it open?

Adult tickets are **¥15**. Children 1.2–1.5 m tall and students pay ¥5; children under 1.2 m (or under 6) go free. Guides mention free entry for over-60s with ID, but we couldn’t confirm that it applies to foreign passports. Hongfa Temple charges nothing on top.

The garden is open **every day, 6:00–21:30**. Tickets are needed **8:00–18:00**; between 6:00 and 8:00 and from 18:00 to 21:30 entry is free, and the gates are shut overnight. Hongfa Temple is open 8:00–18:00. The cactus dome, bonsai and orchid gardens keep 9:00–17:00, and the Paleontological Museum is closed on Mondays.

Tickets come from the garden’s official WeChat account (深圳市仙湖植物园); around holidays, tickets bought elsewhere may be refused. During Chinese New Year and big flower shows, entry switches to timed bookings and cars are kept away from the gates. The ticket and hours pages on the garden’s own website don’t load without a full browser, so we mark these figures as being checked.

## Hongfa Temple: getting up there and what to see

Hongfa Temple sits above the lake on the flank of Wutong Mountain. The easiest way up is the **¥3 shuttle** from the main gate (7:00–18:00, leaving every few minutes, with one stop at Suoluo Lake). Walking means a climb by road and steps, so bring water and allow extra time.

The halls rise along a central axis: the Mountain Gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, a Buddhist culture exhibition building, the Mahavira (Main Buddha) Hall and, at the top, the Sutra Library. Side halls are dedicated to Guanyin, Ksitigarbha and a reclining Buddha, with a bell tower and drum tower. The higher you go, the wider the view over the wooded hills.

This is a working monastery, not a museum: people pray, incense burns and monks go about their day. It is busiest on the 1st and 15th of each lunar month and over Chinese New Year, when queues form and worshippers need to book a slot. On an ordinary weekday it is calm.

> **What to wear and how to behave at Hongfa Temple** Cover shoulders and knees, and take your hat off inside the halls. Keep your voice down, step over (not on) door thresholds, and don’t walk in front of people bowing. If a hall has a no-photography sign, put the camera away. Light incense only where it’s provided.

## What to see in the garden

- **Hongfa Temple** — terraces of golden-roofed halls on the mountainside; the main reason to come.
- **Cactus and succulent dome** (仙人掌与多肉园) — a clear hemispherical greenhouse with rows of barrel cacti; the garden’s most photographed spot, open in the daytime.
- **Fairy Lake** itself — lakeside paths, bridges and pavilions, with the temple visible on the slope above.
- **Fossil Forest** — petrified tree trunks displayed in the open air, next to the Paleontological Museum.
- **Suoluo Lake** (桫椤湖), lined with tree ferns — on the way to the temple and a shuttle stop.
- **Bonsai and pine gardens** — the Chinese art of miniature trees, 9:00–17:00.
- **Desert and palm areas** — plants you won’t see growing wild anywhere in China.

## How to get to Fairy Lake Botanical Garden

1. From central Futian, take **Line 2** east from **Civic Center** towards Liantang — **9 stops, no change** — to **Xianhu Road** (仙湖路). Line 2 trains run through onto Line 8 here.
2. Leave by **exit C3** (or C2) on the west side of Xianhu Road. The main gate is about an 8-minute uphill walk along the road.
3. From the **Lo Wu (Luohu)** border crossing: Line 1 for three stops to **Grand Theater**, change to Line 2 and ride 5 more stops to Xianhu Road. From **Futian Checkpoint**: Line 4 to Civic Center, then Line 2.
4. From Bao’an Airport: Line 11 to **Futian**, change to Line 2 towards Liantang and ride to Xianhu Road — allow over an hour.
5. At the gate, take the **temple shuttle** (¥3) or the garden loop bus (¥10 day pass). On foot, the temple is an uphill walk.
6. By taxi or DiDi from Futian, about 40 minutes without traffic (unofficial); show the driver 仙湖植物园 南门, 仙湖路160号. Shenzhen Metro gates accept contactless foreign Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB and UnionPay cards.

## Temple shuttle and garden loop bus

Two bus lines run inside the garden. The **Hongfa Temple shuttle** goes from the main gate via Suoluo Lake to the temple: ¥3 a ride, 7:00–18:00, leaving when full — roughly every 8 minutes. Children 1.2–1.4 m pay half, under 1.2 m ride free.

The **loop bus** covers almost 9 km, stopping at the south and north gates, Suoluo Lake, Hongfa Temple, the bonsai garden, the succulent garden and more. It runs 9:00–18:00 every 10–30 minutes; a ¥10 day ticket lets you hop on and off as often as you like.

Pay by scanning the QR code on the stop signs or through the mini-program. On weekends, public holidays and the 1st and 15th of the lunar month, temple shuttle tickets are sold at the main gate instead. Buses are sometimes suspended on big holidays, leaving you to walk the whole way.

## Is Fairy Lake Botanical Garden worth it?

Yes, if you want a break from the skyscrapers and a living Buddhist temple in a forest setting. The **temple, lake and cactus dome** take 2.5–3 hours; the whole garden with the fossil forest and trails is a full day. Come for the 9:00 greenhouse opening, or earlier — it’s cooler and the temple is quiet.

Skip it if you only have one day in Shenzhen and want towers and shopping streets: the round trip alone takes more than an hour. And don’t expect peace over Chinese New Year or on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month — those are the temple’s busiest days.

Compared with the city parks, it’s a different kind of trip: [Lianhuashan Park](https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen/lianhuashan-park) is a free hour on a hill with a skyline view; Fairy Lake is a proper day out in nature with a temple and greenhouses.

## Fairy Lake vs other green spaces in Shenzhen

|  | Fairy Lake | Lianhuashan Park | Talent Park |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Entry | ¥15 by day; free early and late | Free | Free |
| Highlight | Hongfa Temple, cactus dome, forest | Summit view of Futian | Lake with a view of the Houhai towers |
| Time needed | 2.5–3 hours or more | 60–90 minutes | 60–90 minutes |
| Where | Luohu, east side | Futian, centre | Nanshan, west side |

Details for the two parks come from their YesGo pages.

## Before you go

- [ ] WeChat with WeChat Pay and a working card — for the ticket
- [ ] Or a plan to arrive before 8:00, when entry is free
- [ ] Alipay, WeChat Pay or small notes for the temple shuttle
- [ ] Shoulders and knees covered for the temple
- [ ] Water, a hat and insect repellent
- [ ] Comfortable shoes — the temple is uphill
- [ ] Check it isn’t the 1st or 15th of the lunar month

## Shenzhen by the water

Shenzhen spots by lakes and the bay, rated by YesGo.

- [Shenzhen Talent Park](https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen/shenzhen-talent-park) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free
- [Bay Glory Ferris Wheel](https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen/bay-glory) — YesGo score 24/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ¥140–150, more on holidays
- [Fairy Lake Botanical Garden](https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen/fairy-lake-botanical-garden) — YesGo score 21/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · ¥15; free early morning and evening

## East Shenzhen in a day: temple, old market street, electronics

Morning at Hongfa Temple and the garden, afternoon on Dongmen shopping street via Lines 2 and 1, evening at the Huaqiangbei electronics market. Add them to your route and YesGo will sort the timing and transfers.

1. [Fairy Lake Botanical Garden](https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen/fairy-lake-botanical-garden) — YesGo score 21/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · ¥15; free early morning and evening
2. [Dongmen Pedestrian Street](https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen/dongmen-pedestrian-street) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free
3. [Huaqiangbei](https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen/huaqiangbei) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free entry

## Good to know

Your station is **Xianhu Road** (仙湖路) — not the neighbouring **Liantang Checkpoint** (莲塘口岸) by the Hong Kong border crossing, nor the Line 2 terminus **Liantang**. “Fairy Lake” is also the name of lakes and resorts elsewhere, and other Chinese cities have temples called Hongfa — this one is in Shenzhen’s Luohu District.

## Tips

- Arrive by 8:00: entry is still free, the temple is quiet, and the greenhouses open at 9:00.
- Ride the shuttle up to the temple and walk down to the lake — much easier on the legs.
- Avoid Chinese New Year and lunar holidays: timed bookings, queues and road closures.
- Visit the cactus dome on a weekday — it’s the garden’s photo spot and only opens 9:00–17:00.
- The Paleontological Museum by the Fossil Forest is closed on Mondays.
- Mobile signal is patchy in the valley — download the garden map and your route back before you go.
- Afterwards, ride Line 2 back to Grand Theater and one stop on Line 1 to [Dongmen Pedestrian Street](https://yesgo.io/china/shenzhen/dongmen-pedestrian-street).

## Questions

### How much is the Fairy Lake Botanical Garden ticket?

¥15 for adults between 8:00 and 18:00; ¥5 for children 1.2–1.5 m and students; free under 1.2 m. Entry is free 6:00–8:00 and 18:00–21:30.

### Is Hongfa Temple free?

Yes, the temple charges nothing and needs no booking on normal days. But it sits inside the garden, so in the daytime you need a garden ticket.

### What are Fairy Lake Botanical Garden opening hours?

Daily 6:00–21:30, with paid entry 8:00–18:00. Hongfa Temple opens 8:00–18:00; the greenhouses and themed gardens 9:00–17:00.

### How do I get to Fairy Lake Botanical Garden by metro?

Line 2 to Xianhu Road (9 stops from Civic Center, no change), exit C3, then about 8 minutes on foot to the gate.

### Can foreigners buy tickets?

Yes, through the garden’s official WeChat account (深圳市仙湖植物园) with WeChat Pay linked to your card. Without WeChat, come before 8:00 or after 18:00, when entry is free.

### How far is Hongfa Temple from the gate?

It’s uphill from the main gate. The ¥3 shuttle (7:00–18:00) is the easy way; walking means a climb by road and steps.

### How long do you need at Fairy Lake Botanical Garden?

2.5–3 hours for the temple, lake and cactus dome; a full day for the whole garden including the Fossil Forest.

### Where is the cactus dome in Shenzhen?

In Fairy Lake Botanical Garden: the cactus and succulent garden sits under a clear hemispherical greenhouse, open 9:00–17:00.

### What should I wear to Hongfa Temple?

Cover shoulders and knees, remove your hat in the halls, keep quiet and don’t take photos where signs forbid it.

### Is Fairy Lake Botanical Garden worth visiting?

Yes, if you have half a day for nature and a working temple. With only one day in Shenzhen, stay central instead.

## How we checked

The ticket and hours pages on the garden’s website (szbg.ac.cn) return an empty page without a full browser, and the Shenzhen government page with the price didn’t load, so prices and hours come from Shenzhen Bendibao, Travel China Guide and East China Trip, which agree (¥15; open 6:00–21:30, paid 8:00–18:00) — hence “being checked”. An older Bendibao article gives free entry from 4:00 and a ¥20 ticket; those are earlier rules. East China Trip lists ¥10 on public holidays, with no second source, so we leave it out. Free entry for over-60s is in several guides, but its use with a foreign passport rests on a single traveller account. The area varies by source: 546 ha (MTR, English Wikipedia), 588 ha (Travel China Guide), 668 ha (Chinese Wikipedia). Temple hours come from Shenzhen Bendibao. Walking time from the metro is MTR’s (about 8 minutes from C3; East China Trip gives 760 m). The taxi time is East China Trip’s estimate. The English core comes from English-language search results and related questions.

## Sources

- Fairy Lake Botanical Garden website (szbg.ac.cn): number of species and themed gardens
- MTR travel guide to Fairy Lake Botanical Garden: address, area, species, cactus dome, Hongfa Temple, route from Xianhu Road station
- English Wikipedia: Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Hongfa Temple, Shenzhen Metro Line 2, Xianhu Road station; Wikidata Q27048532
- Chinese Wikipedia: 仙湖植物园, 弘法寺 (深圳)
- Shenzhen Bendibao: Hongfa Temple, hours, tickets, temple shuttle and loop bus, holiday rules
- Travel China Guide: tickets, hours, internal buses, Fossil Forest
- East China Trip: tickets, hours, metro exits, temple shuttle, taxi
- Shenzhen Government Online: ticket price and WeChat sales (seen in search results)
- Shenzhen Municipal Transport Bureau: international bank cards on Shenzhen Metro

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