Accolades
- The biggest municipal botanical garden in China.
- Place to learn about plants.
- The bonsai garden (Penjing, 盆景) is a highlight.
- Almost a square kilometer in size (81 hectares or .3 square miles).
Features
This botanical garden is in southwesternShanghai. There is a metro train near there, so travel is more convenient by taking the metro. It is quite big (200 acres), and there are big greenhouses and a wide variety of plants there. It is along a canal and measures about 2 kilometers by half a kilometer in size. It is noted for its medicinal garden, its orchids garden, and the bonsai garden section. The bonsai garden section called the Pengjing Yuan, and you can walk around in a garden looking at rows and clusters of miniature trees. Entry to this bonsai area costs an extra dollar USD. The garden is an interesting place for those who want to see a great variety of plants ranging from tropical plants and endangered species to common garden plants.
There is a tropical greenhouse in a large greenhouse that measures about an acre in area and is about 30 meters tall. There are thousands of tropical plants from all over the world. China has two small rainforest regions inXishuangbannain southwest China near Southeast Asia and south ofHong KongandHainanIsland. You can see rainforest plants preserved there from those two areas. You can also see tropical fruit trees in the Tropical Fruit Tree area such as cocoa and coffee. The tropical greenhouse is a fine place to visit on a cold Shanghai winter day.
In the summer, a fine place to go is the bamboo grove area. It is about 3 hectares or 7.5 acres in area. There, you can see thousands of bamboo plants of about 100 different species. Many foreigners have never seen a natural bamboo grove. So here is a place you can study the kind of plant. If you go in the spring, you can see hundreds of kinds of flowers in bloom.
Other areas of the garden include the Herbal Medicine Garden, the Orchid Garden, and the Hydrophyte Garden. In the Hydrophyte Garden, there are aquatic plants such as waterlilies. There are also plant theme shows each year. An interesting one for kids was the insectivore show. Other theme shows were the Shanghai Flower Show and the South African Flower Show. Along with these for amusement and refreshment, there are playgrounds for kids and restaurants. You can buy plants in various shops and stall areas.
Transportation
- Address:上海植物园,没有. 1111 Longwu Road, Shanghai. 上海市徐汇区龙吴路1111号. You can show the address to a taxi driver.
- Metro:Line 3 goes there. Get off at Shilonglu Station.
- Entrance No. 1: Take 56, 714, 720, 770, 820, 824, or 958 and get off at Shanghai Botanical Garden.
- Entrance No. 2: Take 56, 714, 720, 770, 824, or 958 and get off at Longshui Nanlu.
- Entrance No. 3: Take 131, 718, 720, 820, or 824 and get off at Yuannan Xincun. Take 131, 718, 720, 857, or 957 and get off at Huicheng Xincun.
- Entrance No. 4: Take 111, 144, 156, 857, or 957 and get off at Shilong Road.
Important Information
- Price:Restricted admission costs 15 RMB or about 2.40 USD. Admission to see whole garden including the Bonsai Garden and other a few other special sections costs 40 RMB or more than 6 USD.
Entry to the Bonsai Garden costs about 7 RMB or a little more than a dollar USD. Students may get an 8% discount ticket; and a tour group of over 30 persons get an 8% discount too. Entering the main gate is free for people who are older than 70, and they get a discount for entering other areas. - Time: 8:00 - 17:00.
