Quiet bordering on bustle: the old gardens dotting Shanghai downtown

People’s Park

Located in the most prosperous area of central Shanghai, the park borders on Park Hotel, The Grand Theatre and other antique buildings in the north, and faces Raffles, a new landmark of fashion, and it is also near to Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street.

The plant configuration shows a great originality, with a winding bridge dividing the waterscape in two parts: the Lily Pond and the Bicui Lake. Bridges over flowing water, the waterfalls and streams of the Xishan Scenic Spot work together to breathe a cooling breeze into the summer heat.

Huangpu Park

It has artificial hills, waterfalls, and antique pavilions, winding bridges and modern bars.

The park servers as a bridge linking the People's Heroes Monument, History museum on the Bund, large-scale relief and Monument Square, turning them into an integrated whole. Huangpu Park Square is the best place to view the scenery on both sides of the Huangpu River, recommended by the Reconstruction Headquarters of the Bund.

GuiLin Park

Inside the park, there are bridges over flowing waters, towering hills, pavilions, winding paths, and lush plantations, all as picturesque as those described in a textbook. Thus visitors cannot help but feel totally enchanted.

The park also has over 1,000 osmanthus flowers of more than 20 species. Even in a season when the flowers are not in bloom, you can still enjoy a cup of osmanthus Longjing tea at the teahouse of Fourth Church, indulging yourself in its sweet scent.

Xiangyang Park

Situated on the Middle Huaihai Road, the park welcomes visitors onto its sycamore avenue lined with tall trees, leading to the attractions. There are planted nearly 100 categories of trees, including cherry, camellia, azalea, begonia, Chinese rose, adding to its beauty all through the year.

Fuxing Park

As the most typical French parks in Shanghai, the park is the only garden in Shanghai that retains French classical style, and it is also a wonder of the integration of Chinese and western garden cultures in modern Shanghai. It is especially famous for its flowers, trees, pavilions, hills and pools

Lu Xun Park

Inside the park there are several national cultural heritage sites, such as Lu Xun's Tomb, Lu Xun Memorial Hall, and Plum Garden, a garden in memory of Yin Fengji for his chivalrous deed, that was recorded as a striking event in the modern history. It has hills, rivers and waterfalls, with dam bridges connecting hills and rivers. Overall, the beautiful garden has preserved the features of English landscape gardens.

Huoshan Park

During the Second World War, the park was a place for many Jewish refugees to hang

out.

The Jewish asylum is still there. On a plate of the facade wall of the building is a line in English, “Thanks to the people of Shanghai for accepting Jewish refugees before and during the Second World War.”

Zhongshan Park

In 1944, it was renamed Zhongshan Park in memory of Sun Yat-sen.

The park is well-known as English garden, where a wide variety of vegetation is planted, earning it a reputation of “a small botanic garden”. Home to nearly 150-year-old sycamore trees, it tops its peers in Eastern China. Today, the area around the park has become a bustling business circle.

Guangqi Park

As a memorial park, it has ten tombs, where was buried Xu Guangqi, an outstanding scientist of Ming Dynasty who worked with Matteo Ricci, an Italian missionary, to translate Elements of Geometry into Chinese, his wife Mrs. Wu, and their four grandchildren and their wives.

There is the Xu Guangqi Memorial Hall open to visitors.

Yu Garden

Yu Garden, a private garden built in the Ming Dynasty, boasts a history of more than 400 years.

The garden, and the nearby Yuyuan Tourist Mart, Shanghai Traditional Street have become a cultural identity peculiar to Shanghai. The combination of temples, gardens, architecture, shops, food, and tourism has turned it into a window showing the 700-year history of the city, and a visual representation of Shanghai's urban civilization.