Gongqing Forest Park

The miserly lawn space in most of Shànghǎi’s synthetic parks can leave one cold, but this vast expanse of forested parkland on the western shore of the Huangpu River is a leafy, wooded and tranquil slice of countryside in town. This is about as wild as you get in Pǔxī, with acres of willows, luohan pines, magnolias, hibiscus and nary a skyscraper in sight. Aim to spend half if not a whole day picnicking and wandering around this huge area, or hop into one of the buggies (Y10) for express tours around the grounds. Children will whoop at the sight of the roller coaster (Y20), rock climbing wall (Y20), adventure ground and fun fair. There’s also a pricey football pitch (Y400 per hour), angling, views over Huangpu River, electric powered boats (Y30 per hour) on the lakes and horse- riding. If you want to spend the night in the park, there’s the Gongqing Forest Resort ( 共青 森林度假村; Gòngqīng Sēnlín Dùjiàcūn; tel 6588 1572; 2300 Jungong Rd; 军工路 2300 号; d Y180-200). It gets busy at weekends. The Nengjiang Rd station near the northern terminus of metro line 8 will get you close to the western edge of the park.