The Shimmering Shell Islet garden, the entry of Nanshan’s Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau to the 2026 Greater Bay Area Flower Show, won both the Gold Award and the Best Construction Award in the Urban Garden category.

Visitors snap photos in front of the Shimmering Shell Islet garden curated by Nanshan.

Inspired Nanshan’s mountain and sea landscapes, white shell-shaped installations give the garden a layered structure and create a poetic space where humans and nature coexist in harmony. These “shells” symbolize islets in a shimmering sea of vibrant flowers and plants, which waver in the breeze and mimic the shimmering sea surface.

The 2026 Greater Bay Area Flower Show opened on March 27 at Bijia Mountain Sports Park in Futian District, and will run through April 6.

This year's event brings together works of designers from APEC member economies including China's Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, and the United States. Using flowers as a shared language, the show fosters dialogue and exchange.

This year's show features the iris as its theme flower,

Under the theme “Bloom with Grace, Coexist in Harmony,” the flower show features the iris as its theme flower, showcasing a vibrant palette of red, pink, yellow, blue, purple, and white varieties.

The exhibition is organized around four major sections — Master Gardens, Bay Area Gardens, Urban Gardens, and Floral Markets — alongside eight mini gardens, presenting more than 30 distinctive horticultural creations.

As a highlight of the flower show, the seven master gardens each feature unique aesthetics. Designed by leading landscape designers from New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China, these gardens interpret the theme from diverse perspectives.

The Urban Gardens are curated by Shenzhen's 11 districts, each offering a vivid reflection of a district's unique traits.

A mini garden at the flower show.

Also on exhibition are the “AI Top Eight,” eight categories of smart hardware, such as robots to AI glasses, traded in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei area.

The two parking lots, with their EV charging facilities, are closed during the flower show to ease traffic congestion on nearby roads. Camping is also forbidden in the park during the period to facilitate crowd movement. Visitors are encouraged to walk or use public transit to get to the venue.

For those who need to drive, parking is available at nearby commercial complexes such as the UpperHills mall.

Flower installations along the Futian River.

Metro: Line 9 or 10 to Maling Station (孖岭站), Exit A1, then walk around 15 minutes

Line 10 to Donggualing Station (冬瓜岭站), Exit B or E, then walk around 15 (Exit B) or 18 (Exit E) minutes;

Line 7 or 14 to Huangmugang Station (黄木岗站), Exit 15, then walk around 11 minutes

Line 3 or 10 to Lianhuacun Station (莲花村站), Exit C2, then walk around 20 minutes