Most people wouldn’t consider Shanghai to be a green city on first glance. It’s not famed for its fresh air, and it’s something of a concrete jungle. But take a closer look, and you’ll find that there are lots of beautiful parks dotted around the city that are the perfect antidote to the traffic fumes and downtown noise.

Having said that, one of Shanghai’s most famous parks is right in the centre of the city. People’s Park (Renmin Guangchang) sits inside People’s Square, surrounded by skyscrapers. Prior to 1949 the park was a horseracing track. After the Communists rose to power it was turned into the public space that we see today, and is now enjoyed by urbanites who want to see some grass without venturing out of town.

Fuxing Park

One of Shanghai’s most historically interesting parks is Lu Xun, or Hong Kou Park in the north of the city. Stepping inside is a little like taking a trip back to more tranquil times. You’ll see elderly folk practising t’ai chi, those curiously majestic outdoor ballroom dancing sessions, and gaggles of people gathered around makeshift mah jongg tables under the trees, or playing erhus and Chinese flutes. The park commemorates one of China’s most famous 20th century writers and political activists, Lu Xun. He was born in Zhejiang Province but moved to Shanghai in 1927 and completed his most famous works here before his death in 1936. The park that’s now dedicated to his life was originally a shooting range exclusively for foreigners, opened in 1906. Locals were admitted in 1928, and the space was given over to Lu Xun’s memory after his death. Along with lakes, a Japanese cherry garden, and Korean plum pavilion, the park is home to the Lu Xun Museum where you can see a range of items from the writer’s life, including his death mask.

The French Concession is already unusually leafy for an inner-city area, but Fuxing Park adds some extra greenery. Located between Fuxing Lu and Nanchang Lu, the 88,900 square metre park was opened in July 1909. It was originally called Gu’s Park after the family that established it, then renamed French Park in colonial times. During the Japanese occupation it was called Daxing Park, and got its current name only after World War II. It’s a lovely, quiet park with fountains, trees, and a rose garden. Look out for the statues of Marx and Engels.

Chang Feng Park

Another city-centre park is Jing’an, located behind the malls and restaurants. It has a traditional Chinese garden and a pond, and can be enjoyed from the terrace of the Balinese restaurant on Wanhangdu Lu.

Zhongshan Park is the perfect foil to the giant shopping haven that clusters around the Kaixuan/Changning Lu crossroads. It is 214,000 square metres, and was opened only to westerners in 1914 under the name Jessfield Park. In 1941 it was renamed Zhongshan Park to honour Sun Yat-Sen, who was also known as Sun Zhongshan. Today the park is home to wide lawns, a boating lake and various play areas.

Chang Feng Park sits beside the East China Normal University, bordered by Jinshajiang Lu and Guangfu Lu. One of its main draws is Ocean World, a marine park which has beluga whales, dolphin shows, and even sharks which braver visitors can swim with. There’s also indoor go-karting, and an international flower festival in the springtime. The park measures 364,000 square metres and was built in 1957 in the style of Beijing’s Summer Palace.

Gongqing Forest Park

Over in Pudong is Shanghai’s largest (and cleanest) park. Away from the clogged traffic arteries of Puxi, the air in Century Park is much purer than the rest of the city’s. At nearly 1.5 million square metres, the park contains seven scenic areas, and was designed by British landscaping firm LUC. Entry is ¥10 (most other parks charge ¥2) and you can hire bikes to explore the wide boulevards.

Less well-known but definitely worth adding to the list is Gongqing Forest Park in the Yangpu District. It’s not easily accessible by metro, which means it is far quieter than Shanghai’s other green spaces. Only slightly smaller in area than Century Park, it is split into two parts – the forest park and the bamboo garden. The land it now occupies was once Huangpu silt marsh. The government dredged it in 1956 and planted trees, followed by an orchard development in 1958 from the Youth League led by activist Hu Yaobang. The 1980s saw a drive towards increasing public parkland, so the space was turned into the Gongqing Forest Park. It was opened to the public in 1986, and the bamboo garden was planted 10 years later.

So Shanghai really isn’t the grey urban sprawl that it often appears to be. Both downtown and suburban areas are home to green spaces which remind you that city living can be green.

Next week – Green Shanghai Part II: Eco-City

See also:  Green Shanghai Part II: Eco-City

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