Reservations for visits to the West Artificial Island of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel will open on October 25, with a visit duration of just 26 seconds. Situated on the Lingding Ocean, the West Artificial Island resembles a sea kite or a Kunpeng soaring over the ocean, showcasing breathtaking views. On October 22, the Guangdong Transportation Group announced that after nearly a year of intense preparations, this highly anticipated super project will commence cultural and tourism trial operations starting on October 25, with an official opening scheduled for December. The West Artificial Island will begin cultural and tourism operations on October 25, allowing the first batch of internal test visitors to access the island free of charge. The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel, which integrates bridges, islands, tunnels, and underwater connections, spans approximately 24 kilometers and holds ten world records, making it one of the most challenging maritime cluster engineering projects globally. Following seven years of planning and another seven years of construction with over 15,000 builders involved, the channel was completed and opened to traffic on June 30, 2024, with a steady flow of vehicles traversing the bridges and tunnels continuously. As a crucial hub for the conversion between bridge and tunnel, the West Artificial Island covers an area of approximately 137,000 square meters and is equipped with traffic management, emergency rescue, and science education functionalities.
“The entire development of cultural and tourism operations at the West Artificial Island will be conducted in phases. The first phase focuses on setting up a science education base for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area maritime corridor for research studies and sightseeing,” explained Chen Hailiang, an executive at the project’s operating company, Shenzhen Cultural Tourism Industry Development Co., Ltd. “Starting from October 25, we will partner with the Shenzhen Bus Group and the Zhongshan Public Transport Group to initiate a month-long operational pressure test. Reservations will be available from Monday to Friday for enterprises and educational groups, while individual bookings from the general public will be accepted on Saturdays and Sundays.”
According to reports, this internal test primarily focuses on service processes, experience optimization, and operational system dynamics. Participants who successfully reserve will take designated buses to the island, providing hands-on feedback on the visitor flow within the science education base, VR/AR interactive equipment, and supporting service provisions. "Currently, group reservations are mainly facilitated through direct offline contact. Interested groups can reach us via private message through the WeChat public account ‘Shenzhen Cultural Tourism Development’. Individual visitors can confirm their reservations online through the official mini-program. We will not accommodate walk-in visitors without a reservation. We encourage visitors to provide valuable feedback. For sincerity, the first batch of internal test visitors will enjoy free admission, while subsequent participants will receive an early bird ticket price for a visit lasting approximately two hours. Moving forward, we will develop optimization plans based on the feedback from visitors to solidify the foundation for the official opening.”
According to the official ticketing mini-program “Deep Love Ticket,” visitors departing from Shenzhen can choose to board at the Renmin Dasha Station or the Qianhai Bay cross-city bus transfer station, while visitors from Zhongshan can depart from the Zhongshan Expo Center Station. The adult ticket price will be 188 RMB, student ticket 158 RMB, and tickets for children and preferential groups will be 128 RMB, including round-trip travel and an island visit lasting about three hours. Facilities for dining services are currently being prepared and are expected to be officially operational by the end of December.
The aim is to create a multifaceted cultural tourism super IP, combining "innovative technology + super engineering + cultural tourism romance." Upon arrival at the West Artificial Island, visitors will be greeted with stunning sea views. In addition to taking photos at the observation deck, capturing iconic landmarks such as Shenzhen Airport and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Great Bridge, visitors can delve into the approximately 2,200 square meter science education base for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area maritime corridor. This area will provide an overview of the development history of the maritime corridor, the history of bridge and underwater tunnel construction in China, and the construction journey of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel. Utilizing the technological advancements of the project itself, the exhibition will incorporate various digital immersive experiences—enhancing visitor engagement with VR, AR, and holographic projection technologies, offering interactive art drawing, AI-style photography, and knowledge quizzes that immerse visitors in the experience.
Outside the West Artificial Island, there are full-size test sections of the underwater buried pipe tunnel and several actual engineering components, allowing visitors to engage directly with history and understand the core strength behind the super construction through an entertaining educational experience. “We will gradually expand the comprehensive cultural tourism functions that integrate sightseeing, leisure, and support services based on strictly ensuring the operational management of traffic, utilizing areas like the science education base, rescue wharf, and helipad to develop projects such as viewing bridges from the sea and low-altitude sightseeing flights,” said Chen Hailiang. “Drawing from the successful experiences of theme parks in crafting scenes and embedding content, long-term plans include introducing Shenzhen-specific industrial forms such as robots, VR, and low-altitude flights, merging science education, themed sightseeing, and research study experiences to transform the West Artificial Island into a 'technology + engineering + cultural tourism' super IP for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.”
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