This is the first installment of a series of travel guide posts designed specifically for nature enthusiasts. The main content offers a critical review and recommendation of the natural spaces and their biological compositions across various districts of Shenzhen from my perspective as a Shenzhen native. It aims to provide guidance and references for iNaturalist users who are new to Shenzhen, especially those from abroad. Since this series is based on my intuitive impressions during my visits to these places, please use it as a reference with discretion!
Admission: Free
Opening Hours：
Staircase trails: 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Paved roads (pedestrians only): 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Getting Here:
Subway: Take Line 1 to Gushu Station, Exit A. The West Gate of the park is about 1.5 km from the station.
Bus: Take buses 337, 362, M245, or M249 to the “Tiezaishan Park” stop.
Nature Observation: Birds, arthropods, plants, plankton.
Best Time to Visit: Migratory birds can be observed during the spring migration (February to early May) and autumn migration (mid-September to early December), whereas other biological groups have no specific seasonal limitations.
To begin this series, I plan to start with the natural space closest to the airport:
Landing from the airport, you arrive in Bao’an District, the largest and most populous district in Shenzhen. Within this 396-square-kilometer area live 4.6 million permanent residents. On the southern side of this district lies a small natural hill called Tiezaishan .
As a coastal hill, it serves as a stable stopover for various migratory birds. However, despite being an important habitat, it has not been on the radar of the Shenzhen birdwatching community for long and remained largely neglected for the past few decades. It wasn’t until March 2025, when a series of bird sightings—including the Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana)—were reported, that it began to attract attention.
If you hike up the mountain during the peak migratory bird seasons (March to early May, and October to December), entering from the North Gate (Huxin Island) or the West Entrance Square, it takes at least half an hour to reach the bird gathering areas on foot. Migratory forest birds, especially passerines, tend to congregate near Hiking Trail No. 14. From March to April, the most common species include the Orange-headed Thrush (Geokichla citrina), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina), Amur Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone incei), Chestnut-flanked White-eye (Zosterops erythropleurus), White-throated Rock Thrush (Monticola gularis), Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata), and Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane), among others. However, the specific species composition depends on the season; this overview focuses on spring, the season with the richest bird diversity. Ground-dwelling birds like thrushes and robins usually gather on the ground more than 10 meters away from the trail, while tree-dwelling flycatchers and warblers are mostly active in the canopies along the path, requiring careful observation to spot.
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana)
Amur paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone incei)
White-throated rock thrush (Monticola gularis)
The Sightseeing Platform is one of the few raptor observation points in Shenzhen. There is a pavilion on the mountaintop with a small convenience store underneath; you can climb the steps to the top of the pavilion for a better view. The best season for raptor watching is November, when raptors that breed in Northeast Asia migrate through South China to spend the winter in Southeast Asia. According to statistics from the Shenzhen Birdwatching Association in 2025, Tiezaishan set a record of monitoring 22 species and 1,318 individual raptors in a single autumn migration season. Common resident raptors include the Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela), and Crested Goshawk (Lophospiza trivirgata).
Oriental Honey-Buzzard （Pernis ptilorhynchus）
Amur Falcon（Falco amurensis ）
According to the statistics from the autumn migration season of 2025, the most common migratory raptors include the Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis), Besra (Tachyspiza virgata), Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo), and Japanese Sparrowhawk （Tachyspiza gularis). Besides raptors, you can also observe migrating swiftlets. If you are lucky enough, you might even spot bee-eaters flying over the mountaintop. Furthermore, the scenic boardwalk on the summit welcomes the blooming seasons of the Mu Oil Tree (Vernicia montana) and the Chinese Gugertree (Schima superba) in April and May, respectively. The boardwalk is situated very close to the canopy, allowing you to search for flower-visiting insects like eggflies and flower chafers among the blossoms. For microscopy enthusiasts, you can collect water samples from the pond at the North Gate; during the peak plankton season in August, you can find species such as tardigrades and Stentor coeruleus.
Blue Flower Chafer (Gametis jucunda) in the blossoms of the Mu Oil Tree（Vernicia montana）
Tawny Rajah (Charaxes bernardus) feeding on the sap of the Chinese Gugertree (Schima superba)
Precautions: Shenzhen features a subtropical monsoon climate, making spring, summer, and autumn extremely hot and humid (often exceeding 30°C). Please take adequate measures to prevent heatstroke. Additionally, Tiezaishan Park is a gathering place for Aedes mosquitoes, the hosts of dengue fever, so mosquito prevention is essential. Avoid venturing too deep into the shrubbery to prevent snakebites from venomous species such as the Chinese Cobra (Naja atra) and the White-lipped Pit Viper （Trimeresurus albolabris）.