Sheshan Park

    Located 10.5 km in the suburbs north of Songjiang City, it has been approved since 1993 as a state-level forest park. The main aspect of the park is a return to nature. A number of historic sites and scenic spots have been restored and 20 new tourist attractions and amusement centers have been built since that time, such as (wait for the Chinglish here) the ¡°Forest Bathing Ground¡±, the ¡°Happy Little Bamboo Cottage¡± and bamboo artistic products. Of course the main two sites are the observatory ¨C not a bad place to visit for twenty minutes (mainly for the view) and the old church situated atop the summit of the hill showing some nice architecture and the perfect place to stop and admire the sprawl of Shanghai - on a clear day, of course. Take a picnic here and you can enjoy the tea picking and the sounds of nature ¨C getting away from it all, ah, bliss! Using bamboo as the main theme, together with blooming flowers, birds chirping and fragrant flowers you can experience perpetual spring all year round. Except when it¡¯s really cold ¨C or hot, of course! You can even cut a bamboo down if you feel so inclined. They will make you pay for it, but it can be a small task for the children or if you want to impress your girlfriend with your strength.

    So you want something else to do as well. Try The Hundred Birds Garden which is on the eastern slope of Sheshan Hill, occupying an area about 20,000 sq.m. There are 5,000 birds of 50 rare species. The elegantly quiet and peaceful forest park is an ideal place as a summer resort for tourists. There is a lake where you can go horse riding. We recommend you negotiate the price. You have to practice your body language as they only speak Chinese ¨C but not too difficult.

    Bring a picnic and finish this nice day by sledging down the mountain back to your car using the giant slide built into the mountain. Make sure you do this before 4pm as the slide closes early.

    A lot of buses from the Shanghai Stadium serve this destination. It takes 30 mins to get there from the Hongqiao area. You can take a Shanghai taxi to go there. Though, the cheapest way is to take the No.1 tourist bus from Shanghai Stadium which costs 10RMB and takes approximately 40 minutes.

    Song Jiang She Shan Zhen Tel: 57654565/57651666 Open daily: 8:00-16:30 Entrance fee: 15RMB (free for children under 12 years old); 15RMB for the bird park