It is the tail end of the winter foliage season and on this sunny afternoon I went to the Honghu Park to take photographs. The date of visit is January 25, 2026.

The Honghu Park is an urban park space spanning an area of approximately 57.47 hectares. It is located in the heart of the Lohu District, as such it is really quite easy to get to from Hong Kong.

The Honghu Park

Since it opened its doors in 1985, the park has become an exceedingly popular park for Shenzhen residents. It prides itself in the seasonal features that grace the park with distinct sceneries in different times of the year.

Photo: Just a few lotus blooms amidst the pads in the winter.

Of course, in the winter, its bald cypress that turns into a clamor of golden crimson is the very star of the show.

The park is basically a large network of pathways that leads one through different vantage points of the enormous lake that takes up the bulk of the park space. Water is a central theme of Honghu Park. All along the bald cypress walk, I saw people fishing in the lake.

The park is very big, and it took me more than an hour just to walk through the bald cypress section and take my photographs. I didn’t even have a chance to see the lotus pond section. But that is perhaps for another season (summer).

Foliage Photography

A whole lot of parks in Shenzhen feature winter foliage, and all of them come with water views (since the bald cypress tends to grow near water).

The bald cypress-lined waterfront of Honghu Park presents some opportunities for interesting photos. The trees are submerged in the lake. At dusk hour, the lighting of the lakeside amongst the trees makes wonderful contrasts of light and colors.

I went on a Sunday and the park was very crowded. If you go in the weekend, be prepared that you have to do a bit of wait to take the photographs you want at really popular scenic spots.

There are some really cool recreational activities in the park as well, such as badminton courts. There does not appear to be a whole lot of very open areas that might make picnic a good idea, like the lawn in Honghualing Park, but many covered pagodas.

How to Get There

From Hong Kong, I think the easiest way is to take the MTR to Lo Wu Boundary Crossing. Once you are at the Luohu Commercial City, keep going on the deck area to the other end of the mall. On your right, you will see a pretty big bus terminal, where you can take Bus Route 82. About 8, 9 stops later, you will get off at the Honghu Park stop. Head on over the footbridge and you are right at the East Gate of the park. Then walk south and you will find the bald cypress themed section of the park.

Sources

Descriptions on site at the Honghu Park.