Shenzhen for Two
Ping An at Sunset, Rooftop Bars & a Bay Sunset Cycle

This is the most classic date in Shenzhen. Go up to the Free Sky deck on the 116th floor of Ping An Finance Center, the city's tallest tower at 599 m, with the observation deck at 547.6 m and the whole of Shenzhen spread out below. The most romantic window is about an hour before sunset — watch the late light over the city to the west, where you can see the bridge across to Hong Kong and ships heading out to sea, then stay as the whole city lights up at blue hour. The deck has a glass floor and 360-degree views, and many couples come up in the evening to wait for the sun to drop, then watch the city light up tower by tower. It is a fine way to start the night before heading down for dinner in Futian.

Sea World at Shekou is a waterfront plaza built around the old Minghua cruise ship, "moored" on land as the landmark, ringed by international restaurants, bars, and bay-view rooftop bars — everything from British pubs to Thai and Turkish food. A date here can be dinner by the water and cocktails on a rooftop watching the bay lights, then down for the musical fountain show in front of the ship, with fire bursts and lights, the major shows around 19:00 and 21:00 and lasting about 15 minutes (the show runs daily except Mondays, with smaller shows every half hour from about 19:00 — check the day's schedule first). It is lively in a foreigner-friendly way, but there are quiet spots by the water to sit together. Close the night here and stroll in the sea breeze for an easy, lovely date.

Shenzhen Bay Park is a coastal wetland park with a 13-kilometre seafront path and a boardwalk through mangroves. The highlight of a date here is to cycle the coast together in the evening, looking across the water to the Hong Kong skyline and the cross-bay bridge — and as the sun sets, golden, orange and purple light spills over the Hong Kong hills and the sea. You can rent bikes in the park for around ¥30 an hour, including tandem bikes to ride together. Many couples arrive around 16:30 to find a spot for sunset, then stay until about 18:30 to watch the Hong Kong lights and the bridge come on across the bay. It is the slowest, loveliest evening of the trip.

OCT-LOFT is a 1980s brick factory complex turned into an arts and design district, full of independent laneway cafes, bookshops, design studios, and contemporary art galleries, shaded by big old trees, with a quiet and slow feel quite unlike the rest of Shenzhen. Walk hand in hand under the trees in the afternoon, stop at a pretty cafe for coffee and something sweet, and wander the galleries for free. It is the loveliest, most stylish afternoon of the trip. In the early evening there are small bars and design-led restaurants open, and many couples like to stay on for a relaxed dinner here. The district is an easy walk from the metro.

Shenzhen is in Guangdong, so the local cooking is true Cantonese. A date dinner is best ordered as classic dishes to share — dim sum, roast goose or crisp-skinned char siu, and a slow-simmered Cantonese soup — light and gentle on the palate. But Shenzhen is also a young city with plenty of new design-led restaurants and stylish craft-cocktail bars, especially in Futian and Nanshan. For a special night, pick a restaurant high in a tower with a view over the skyline, or a rooftop bar to close the evening with cocktails over the city lights. Book ahead for popular places on weekends. This kind of late-night date is exactly the charm Shenzhen offers that an old town cannot.

If you want a city view that is free and quieter, walk up the hill in Lianhuashan Park, a hilltop park in the middle of Futian that looks straight onto the CBD skyline and the Ping An tower. It is at its best at sunset — the climb is gentle, and you can wait for the light to change and watch the Futian towers come on one by one. It is where locals come to sit with someone they love in the evening, because it is free, the air is good, and the view of the Ping An tower is the clearest in the city. Stroll the park, with its trees and open plaza, then head down for dinner in Futian. It pairs neatly with the day you go up the Ping An deck, since both are on the same side.

Shenzhen has luxury hotels that make the stay part of the memory. Most are in the towers of Nanshan (the tech side by the sea) and Futian (the central CBD), where high rooms look onto the skyline, the Ping An tower, and, in some rooms, across Shenzhen Bay toward Hong Kong. Many have rooftop bars and infinity pools in the building. Wake up and open the curtains to the towers and the sea, sip wine on the room balcony at night — it is a feeling an ordinary hotel cannot give you, ideal for a honeymoon or a special celebration. Book a city-view room ahead, as they fill fast, and stay on the side you plan to explore so you do not lose time crossing the city.

The move a partner always loves on a Shenzhen date is to take the high-speed rail from Futian Station to Hong Kong's West Kowloon in just 14 minutes — faster than crossing many cities. Spend the day on a second-city date: walk Tsim Sha Tsui, ride the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour, go up The Peak for the view, then come back to a Shenzhen bed where hotels cost less. It is two cities in a single trip and it works beautifully. Second-class tickets are around ¥68 (about ฿340), with trains running frequently all day, using your passport and a China visa that allows re-entry (check your visa terms first, since you have to come back into China). You can book ahead on Trip.com or 12306, and do it as an easy out-and-back from morning to evening.