Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

DRIVERS planning to park at the Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden’s parking facilities at the entrance, inside the park, or on Xianhu Road, which is the eastern section of Lianshi Road, must first make reservations, sources from the city’s transport commission said.

The reservations for the parking spots inside the Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, which will open Saturday, can only be made for government and business vehicles. The reservations can be made by contacting the park management or Hongfa Temple, which is located inside the park. Those without reservations won’t be allowed to enter the park.

Residents living in the Dawang area who have to go through the park to work or study in other areas of the city need to register with the park management to get approval. They aren’t allowed to park inside the park, and those who do so will be disqualified from approval.

The parking facility at the entrance of the park will be open for reservations by individuals on weekends and holidays including New Year’s Day, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.

Public buses, medium or oversized buses and taxis don’t need to make reservations, but they aren’t allowed to park in the parking areas and are required to leave immediately after dropping off passengers.

Based on the parking spaces in the area, police offer 480 reservations a day for the parking facility at the entrance to the park and 300 for the parking spaces inside the park.

Drivers can reserve the parking spaces for the next two days through the police WeChat account, official police website and a reservation QR code. Those who have canceled reservations three times within a year will be disqualified from making reservations for the rest of the year.

Drivers who illegally park inside the park, or on Xianhu Road, will be fined 300 yuan (US$43.48) and receive three penalty points.

The botanical garden is the third place in Shenzhen where police have adopted a reservation system for vehicles, following Dapeng and Meisha, to limit the number of vehicles.

The park in Liantang, Luohu District, is often crowded with visitors on holidays and weekends, especially during the Spring Festival, when many people go to the Hongfa Temple to receive blessings. Xianhu Road is the only road to the park and it is often congested during holidays. During the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, police will impose traffic controls.