Exploring Shanghai’s Stunning Gardens & Parks
Shanghai is a concrete jungle with a soaring skyline of skyscrapers and other dazzling futuristic buildings. However, the city also offers a lot of open space and is greener than it seems, with many public parks and gardens filled with locals going about their daily activities. Brightsun Travel has a variety of cheap tickets to Shanghai from the UK, taking you to this world-class city in style. Below are some of Shanghai’s best open spaces which are brimming with culture and offer a welcome oasis from the bustling city.
Yu Garden
This is the ultimate classic Chinese garden, built in the Ming Dynasty hundreds of years ago. The garden offers a tranquil respite from the city with picturesque gardens, lotus ponds, pavilions, bridges, old-world buildings, exotic rock formations including the famous Exquisite Jade Rock, flora and fauna and a gallery of sculptures and carvings. The bustling Yuyuan Bazaar is situated just outside Yu Garden, with vendors selling souvenirs, tasty Chinese cuisines and more.
Jing’an Sculpture Park
Jing’an Sculpture Park is a stunning landscaped garden dotted with an array of inventive statues and sculptures. In between the sculptures there are paved walkways, trees, benches and pretty flower beds. In the spring, cherry blossoms and tulips are in full bloom, which really add to the beautiful landscape of the garden and enhance the visual effects of the sculptures. In the heart of the park is the Shanghai Natural History Museum which is also well worth exploring.
Century Park
This is the largest park in Shanghai, covering a whopping 140 hectares. Century Park is very popular, but because of the large amount of green space, it never feels crowded here. The park offers something for everyone; from a large lake with motor boat ride opportunities to picnic spaces, tree-lined trails and bike rides. Century Park also has an open-air theatre and musical light fountain, as well as many bird reserves, a butterfly park, golf course, children’s amusement park and bonsai garden.
Fuxing Park
Fuxing Park originated as a private park in the Ming Dynasty, so there is a lot of history associated with this attraction. The lush green park features a variety of flowerbeds, leafy trees and pavilions as well as a picturesque rose garden, fountain and a statue of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The central lawn of Fuxing Park offers some amazing people watching opportunities; locals come here to dance, practice tai chi, fly kites and enjoy picnics.
Shanghai Botanical Garden
Shanghai Botanical Garden is China’s largest municipal botanical garden, home to around 3,500 species of plants, flowers and shrubs which are displayed in gardens, greenhouses and waterways. Some of the wonderful species found here include peach flowers, tulips, orchids, bonsai and peonies, as well as many rare plant species. Shanghai Botanical Garden is such a colourful phenomenon, especially in spring and summer when the flowers and trees are in full bloom.
Flights
Brightsun Travel has many cheap flight offers to Shanghai with some of the world’s most famous airlines including China Southern Airlines, Air China, Air France and Lufthansa.