Shanghai Botanical Garden throws a party of cherry blossoms

Everywhere around Shanghai, flowers are blooming. The mild weather makes the season finally feel like spring. Out of all places in Shanghai, the Shanghai Botanical Garden (上海植物园) in the Xuhui District is (?)

If you live near the school, you can take the subway line 2 to Zhong Shan Park (中山公园) and transfer to line 3 and get off at Shi Long Road station (石龙路). It takes a bit more an hour to get there with the metro and another ten minutes to walk from Shi Long Road station to the fourth gate of the park. It might sound like a long journey, but it’s worth it when you get there.

The entrance ticket costs 15 RMB just for the park alone and 40 RMB to enter the three exhibition halls in the park. Unless you are a huge fan of plants, I advise you to just get the cheaper ticket because there’s enough to see just around the park.

Gate 4 of the park is the closest to the metro station and will welcome you with a stunning view of the tulips garden. The park also includes colorfully decorated photo booths all around the garden where you can capture your moments while there.

As you walk deeper into the park, rows of cherry blossoms trees add to the festivity of the park as well as the mild scent of the flowers. You will also be able to see grass fields where visitors picnic and fly kites. Shanghai Botanical Garden is a perfect place to come with your family and friends on a nice sunny day in spring.

The park itself is not exactly too big but renting a two-people bike to explore around for an hour is still recommended. You will be able to stop by all kinds of places around the park including the waterfall (or Rockeries 黄石山) near gate 1, the Bamboo garden in the very South of the park, and a whole garden of all different kinds of cherry blossoms near the Maple Garden. There are interconnected lakes flowing throughout the park, so a boat ride during the golden hour is also recommended.

The end of March to early April is the “peak bloom” period, in which 70 percent of the blossoms are open. So start planning your day out at the Shanghai Botanical Garden to take aesthetic photos and simply chill under the sakura trees!

Featured Image – While cherry blossoms at the park

Photos courtesy of Jessica Choi