The Best Places for Spring Flowers Viewing in Shanghai
As winter comes to an end, colorful flowers blossom waking people to embrace the spring. Pink peach blossoms smile in the breeze, yellow winter jasmine sings to welcome spring, and Sakura dances in the wind.
Many places in Shanghai reach out their hands to invite you to enjoy the views of the flowers. Spring is the perfect time for photographers to take flower pictures. So, where should you go, and what should you do to view the flowers? Here is a guide.
Shanghai Plum Blossom Festival
The first session of the Shanghai Plum Blossoms Festival kicks off on February 22 and ends on March 23. It is held in the Haiwan National Forest Park in the Fengxian District, and the entrance price is CNY80 per person. The Plum Blossom Garden is the main exhibition area with an area of 2,000 acres. In this big garden, there are over 35,000 plum trees and about 126 varieties.
During the festival, bus services run on the Nanliao, Nanwu, Longpinglu, and Fengchengsan lines to the park directly. Free shuttle buses between Shendu Gonglu Station on subway line 8 and the park are available during the festival.
Visitors can go to the plum blossom garden in the park to enjoy a grand plum blossom view. For delicious food there, dining in a music restaurant, tasting local flavored food, or having a barbecue in the garden are good choices.
For travelers with kids, there is more. The amusement park, the go-kart area in the forest, the large lawn, and the horse court are all ideal for families with kids to enjoy family time. In addition, during the festival, there are several other activities, which are shown below.
| Activities | Content | Time | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plum Blossom Photography Contest | Contests for Plum Blossom Photos | February 22 – March 23 | Plum Garden |
| Haifeng Exhibition of Plum Blossom | Exhibition of Plum Blossom Bonsai and Plum Blossom | February 22 – March 23 | Tangmei Hall |
| Bright Dairy UBEST Consumers’ Day | Several Activities promoted by the Bright Dairy Group | March 1 | Plum Garden |
| Xinmin Evening Paper Readers’ Day | Several Activities Held by the Xinmin Evening Paper | March 9 | Plum Garden |
| An Exhibition of celebrities’ paintings and calligraphy of plum blossom | An exhibition of plum blossom paintings and calligraphy by celebrities | March 9 | Tangmei Hall |
| Plum tree planting | Citizens plant trees and claim a plum tree | March 8–9 | The east side of the Sacred Way |
Shanghai Nanhui Peach Blossom Festival
Since 1984, every year the Shanghai government has hosted the Nanhui Peach Blossom Festival between the end of March and the end of April. In 2013, it was held between March 26 and April 20. Admission is CNY55 for an adult and CNY30 for a child in Nanhui Taohua Village.
Nanhui Taohua Village is the major area to celebrate this festival. The village is located at 289 Beimen Road, Huinan Town, Nanhui District, 48 km from downtown Shanghai. In the village, there is a land of peach blossom trees covering 360 acres, water areas covering 60 acres, and various expensive peach blossom trees covering about 100 acres.
Every year during the festival there are more than 100,000 visitors from different parts of China. Take subway line 2 to Zhangjiang Station and then transfer to the Zhangnan line.
Besides viewing the beautiful peach blossoms in Nanhui, travelers can also enjoy local culture such as the dragon dance and lion dance, Jiangnan music performance, and a boat-riding contest. Tasting excellent rural dishes and fishing on the lake are also popular activities.
Four other areas open to the public during the Shanghai Peach Blossom Festival are Datuan Peach Blossom Garden, Xinchang Peach Blossom Garden, Binhai Shiwai Taoyuan Garden, and Heqing Organic Peach Blossom Garden. Each place has its own specialty and different activities.
Nanhui rape flowers
Rape flowers are one of the commonest beautiful flowers along the roadsides when spring comes. If you do not have enough time in Wuyuan to enjoy the great view of rape flowers, Nanhui Taohua Village is a nice spot to enjoy them, as the peach blossoms are also at their best at the same time. Newlywed couples often take their wedding photos here.
Pink peach blossoms with yellow rape flowers together make a perfect colorful picture rarely seen elsewhere. Some interesting programs are held in the garden, such as walking on stilts and funny mini-sports meetings for piglets, where the piglets run, swim, and play on the slides, etc.
Tulip shows
Every spring since 2005, Shanghai Flower Port has hosted a grand outdoor Tulip Flower Show. Usually, it begins at the end of March and finishes before May. More than 300,000 flowers will be shown during that time, including tulips, bluebells, and hyacinths covering over 500 varieties. Every year, new varieties will be shown. Prepare your camera and enjoy a nice time in the sea of flowers.
Shanghai Flower Port is located at 2 Zhendong Road, Donghai Farm, Pudong New District. Take subway line 2 or 7 to Longyang Road Station and transfer to the Longdong line to continue to Shanghai Flower Port. You can also take subway lines 1 or 3 to Shanghai South Railroad Station and transfer to the Nannan line as far as Dongmen Bus Station in Huinan Town. From there, transfer to a bus along Pudong Seven Road to Shanghai Flower Port.
Note that in April, a direct bus service between Shanghai Flower Port and Longyang Road subway station is offered. On weekdays, a bus departs daily at 9 a.m. from Longyang Road Station and returns at 3:30 p.m. from Shanghai Flower Port. On weekends and holidays, the bus departs at 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. from Longyang Road Station and returns at 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. from Shanghai Flower Port.
Michelia Alba in People’s Park
Every year when the Michelia alba in Shanghai is in the bud, it indicates that the weather in Shanghai is getting warm. Usually, they blossom at the beginning of March. It is special that all flowers blossom at the same time, creating a grand view. The white and purple Magnolia soulangeana blossom shortly after the white Michelia alba.
In April, purple Magnolia liliflora are on the branches. They are small but very showy, beautiful, and very different from other flowers, like a noble of the flower families.
The best time to view these beautiful flowers is between the middle of March and the end of April. There are several parks and streets planted with many Michelia alba trees. But the best places to enjoy them are People’s Park, Xujiahui Park, the green belt of Yan’an Middle Road, and certain areas in front of the Shanghai Museum.
Take subway lines 1, 2, or 8 to People’s Park Station. In addition, there is also a Michelia Alba Garden in Shanghai Botanical Garden. For taking good photos, remember to go on a clear, sunny day.
Cherry Blossoms in Shanghai
Shanghai Botanical Garden is the best place to view cherry blossoms in Shanghai, as there is a special cherry blossom area for more than twenty varieties of cherry blossoms. Different kinds of flowers blossom at different times, so the whole cherry blossom period lasts about a month from the end of March to the middle of April. The period is longer than that of other places, and visitors always capture different views during this period.
Shanghai Botanical Garden is situated at 1111 Longwu Road in the Xuhui District. The garden has four gates: Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 3, and Gate 4. Take subway line 3 to Shilong Road Station, which is near Gate 4.
Besides Shanghai Botanical Garden, opportunities to enjoy the cherry blossoms in Shanghai are many, including Lu Xun Park, Shanghai Zhongshan Park, Shanghai Qinghai Road, Cherry Blossom Garden on Century Avenue, Aixiao Road in Shanghai Tongji University, Cherry Blossom Garden in Pudong Gaoqiao and the Cherry Blossom Trees in the large green belt on Yan’an Middle Road.