Mangrove Trees and the Ocean

The Futian Mangrove Nature Reserve is only a couple blocks from my apartment. It is a humongous park that goes from Futian to Nanshan along the bay. It is being massive. There’s no way to walk from one end to the other in a day.

I had been meaning to go since I first discovered it was there. But, due to one thing or another, it took me a few months to stop being lazy and finally go.

Getting There

To get there, I had to cross a very large, busy road, no stoplights or crosswalks as far as the eye could see. But, there were a few pedestrian underpasses.

These had to be some of the nicest underpasses I’ve ever seen. A typical underpass is dark, dirty, grimy, and mystery water in several places. Usually, they’re places to hurry though while worrying about where something might jump out at you from.

These were clean, stylish, well-lit, and all around nice to be in. The one I used on my way home looked nicer than my apartment and it was nice and cool, making it even harder to go back out into the hot sun. But, no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t live in the tunnel.

Once on the correct side of the street, I was right in front of the entrance to the park. The security guard, who was supposed to be checking temperatures, was having a little nap.

The View

The park has a lot of paved walking trails, trees, benches, and big grassy areas. Everything is clearly marked and labeled. The guideposts are, happily, in both English and Chinese.

Along the neverending, but very beautiful walk in, there were a bunch of signs telling me all about the birds that are seen in the area. Unfortunately, I don’t know what any of them are called as the sign was only in Chinese.

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There was also a map of the whole nature reserve and a larger map of just the section I was currently in.

As you can see from the tiny blue line on the top right of the map above, I only saw a very tiny corner of the park. But I got to see some of the birds mentioned on the sign I can’t read, see both Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and smell the salty ocean air.

Even know that Hong Kong is just to the south of the city, just across the border, I didn’t realize that part of the city was so close. I could almost see it from my apartment. However, due to the pandemic, it is impossible to get to, at least without a couple of stays in quarantine.

While I did visit a mangrove reserve, I didn’t actually see a mangrove tree, or, at least, not that I remember. I did see quite a few banyan trees. These are trees that grow their roots from their branches and use them to create very large trunks and take over massive areas of land. These trees have their hanging roots cut so that people can walk around the tree and the tree doesn’t try to wander around or take over the whole park.

Wall-E

I wanted to continue exploring this amazing park, but my stomach said it was past lunch time and, having no food on me, it was time to go. But as I was turning to leave, a robot that looked very much like a large, white Wall-E was coming down the path towards me.

Once it had made it to where I was waiting, confused by it’s presence, I noticed it was repeating something in Chinese, probably about the pandemic or some safety thing.

I noticed that it was a police robot, and not something from the park, assuming China even has the equivalent of a park service. It even had the flashing lights on its back!

Heading Home

Going home was just as long and hot if a journey as getting to the park was. While there is a pedestrian underpass right across from the park, my map said that there was another one not too far away along my route home.

Unfortunately, that other underpass was in a special border zone that was locked down tight with a tall fence topped with a couple rows of large, scary barbed wire. No one is allowed in without special permission, which my map didn’t tell me anything about.

It looks like a very nice park, all set up just waiting for visitors. There were some animal statues, a police officer in a box, and lots of very nicely maintained landscaping. Just no people wandering around, enjoying the view.

I heard that they blocked this section of the park off as it was close to Hong Kong and people might be able to go through it and get around the border, running away through Hong Kong. I don’t know how accurate this is, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was true and the park is in a border zone between the two areas.

Next time

Before I left, I was already planning my next visit. It was a gorgeous park and I was disappointed that I only got a chance to see a tiny corner of it. The park really deserves a full day to explore it, and I only had about an hour today.

But, next time I visit, I’m planning to go on one of the many share bikes available around the city and bring a snack or two to avoid leaving early again. I would like to go from one end of the park to the other, stopping frequently to take lots of pictures and just enjoy the view. It is well worth the time to just sit and watch the birds and enjoy the shade of the trees.

Hopefully, I still remember how to ride a bike.