The park tries to operate a perfect eco-system and highlight the wildness and the original flavor of nature. It provides a natural green land for visitors, while creating a suburban forest resort by making full use of its nurseries.

At present, there are more than 200,000 trees and thousands of square kilometers of plants, including an azalea garden, a magnolia garden and an area of aquatic plants.

A wandering wooden path was among the first facilities completed in the first phase of construction. Made from camphorwood, a bridge crosses the stream in the aquatic plants area which features long corridors and Chinese traditional-style pavilions.

An annual azalea exhibition opens each spring, with some shrubs more than 100 years old. The park has more than 6,000 outdoor azalea shrubs.

Address: No. 3 Gaoshatan, Gaoqiao Town, Pudong

Admission: 20 yuan

Tel: 5864-4791

Dongping National Forest Park

Take a 50-minute boat ride and experience a bit of magic - downtown Shanghai disappears into the mist while a green island emerges - Chongming. The island is just beyond the city's sprawl - but still within the city limits. On the center of the island lies the Dongping National Forest Park.

Billing itself as being "the largest man-made forest in eastern China," the park in many ways is less a nature park than an amusement park. Rock climbing, rides, go-carts and horse riding are just a few of the activities on offer.

Thankfully, though, at 358 hectares, Dongping is large enough to provide an escape from all these activities, which are concentrated on the eastern side. Varieties of birds and winding paths lead deep into the brooding mountains and tempt visitors to linger. A 10-minute walk west from the main entrance will carry you into a lovely land with abundant trees, bamboo groves, flowers, grass and orchards.

The national forest park includes 20 hectares of flowers and plant nurseries, where you can find more than 500 species of trees and flowers.

The air is clean and fresh, and climate is pleasant during the period from March to November.

Address: Beiyan Highway, Chongming Island

Admission: 40 yuan

Tel: 5933-8028, 5933-8280