Shanghai Two-Day Tour - Explore and Taste

Duration: 2 Days, Time: June, Cost per Person: 1500 Yuan, Companions: Friends, Activities: Food, Culture, Free Travel, Weekend Trip, Fine Dining, Author Visited: Sheshan National Forest Park in Songjiang, Zui Bai Pond, Chenshan Botanical Garden, Guangfulin Ancient Cultural Site, Published on 2020-06-10 11:58. Preface: Although I have visited Shanghai many times, I have never deeply explored the city, especially its past stories. Songjiang District, located in the southwest of Shanghai and known as the ‘Roots of Shanghai’, caught my attention. With my work schedule not too busy recently, I decided to take a weekend off to wander around Songjiang. Thus, I embarked on this two-day, one-night journey. Travel Route: Songjiang District has a long history and is rich in culture, with numerous attractions. Therefore, I decided to spend two days exploring. Arriving on Saturday morning and leaving on Sunday evening, the two days and one night provided a relaxed and perfect timing. Day 1: Arriving in Shanghai, visiting Happy Valley and Sheshan National Forest Park in the morning, lunch at the Forest Hotel, visiting Guangfulin in the afternoon, and staying at the Songjiang New Century Grand Hotel in the evening. Day 2: Visiting Zui Bai Pond and Yunjian Granary in the morning, lunch at Xiaoyesh, visiting Blue Elf and Chenshan Botanical Garden in the afternoon, and starting the return journey in the evening. Happy Valley: Departing from Hongqiao Station, it takes about 40 minutes to reach Happy Valley. The entire Happy Valley is quite large, covering an area of 650,000 square meters with over 100 experience projects. There are seven themed areas: Sunshine Port, Happy Time, Shanghai Beach, Shangri-La, Happy Ocean, Gold Mine Town, and Hurricane Bay. After security and ticket checks, you enter the scenic area. Although it was early, the park was already bustling. The first part of the tour was called the Happy Time theme park, which offers many activities suitable for all ages. Whether it’s children or adults, everyone can find suitable experience projects. For those who like thrilling experiences, it is recommended to try the wooden roller coaster, pendulum, and blue moon roller coaster, which are definitely thrilling. If you prefer a more peaceful experience, you can also find suitable activities in Happy Valley, such as carousels, happy bumper cars, dream gyroscopes, and 4D cinema. For families with children, be sure not to miss the bubble experience with clowns near the Shanghai Beach pier. Gold Mine Town theme park was my last stop at Happy Valley. Entering Gold Mine Town, you can see abandoned trains, simple houses, old gold panning machines, mines, and some cowboy character sculptures.
There is a feeling as if one has stepped into an old European or American movie, reminiscent of Western cowboy films from the 1970s and 1980s. Speaking of the area, Sheshan National Forest Park is quite vast, covering 401 hectares with 12 peaks that stretch for 13 kilometers. Due to its high popularity, many friends living in Shanghai often come here for outings and spring outings. Therefore, after arriving in Songjiang, I made a special trip to visit. It must be said that walking along the tourist trails, breathing in the fresh air and leisurely climbing the mountain is quite pleasant. When you reach the observation deck at the top of the mountain and look around, the lush natural environment is truly breathtaking. When it comes to the Guangfulin Ancient Cultural Site, I have longed to visit it because its core area—the Guangfulin Cultural Exhibition Area—is a series of triangular roofs floating on water, which is very creative. Moreover, Guangfulin has a very long history. If Songjiang is considered the root of Shanghai, then Guangfulin is the root of Songjiang. This is enough to show the important position of Guangfulin Ancient Site Park among the many scenic spots in Shanghai. In addition to the cultural exhibition area, there is a large ancient building area in Guangfulin Ancient Site Park, which contains many religious buildings, such as the Tang-style Zhiye Temple, a triple pagoda, and the Yao Shun Yu Memorial Hall, making it very suitable for costume photography. If you are a book lover, I recommend visiting the Duoyun Academy in Guangfulin. This academy has a rich collection of books that can meet the spiritual needs of friends of all ages. If you consider the predecessor of Zui Bai Chi, it can be considered a classical garden with a history of more than 900 years. Along with the Yu Garden in Shanghai, Jiading Guyi Garden, Qiuxia Garden, and Qingpu Qushui Garden, it is known as one of the five major classical gardens in Shanghai. To this day, it still retains a very well-preserved Ming and Qing Dynasty Jiangnan garden style. On the second day of arriving in Songjiang, after having breakfast at the hotel, I went to Zui Bai Chi Garden. Although it was raining heavily, it did not affect our enthusiasm for visiting the garden. In addition to a large number of Ming and Qing Dynasty ancient buildings, there are also many towering ancient trees such as camphor, ligustrum, and osmanthus, as well as various flowers and plants. The weather after the rain is very fresh, and breathing in the fresh air while exploring among pavilions, towers, and pavilions is a great travel experience. Deep in the garden, there is also a Dong Qichang Calligraphy and Painting Art Museum. As a former owner of Zui Bai Chi, having a Dong Qichang Calligraphy and Painting Art Museum here indeed adds a lot of cultural atmosphere and depth to Zui Bai Chi.

For those who enjoy exploring cultural and creative hubs, the Yunjian Granary in Songjiang District is well worth a visit. Originally constructed as a grain warehouse and factory complex from the 1950s to the 1990s, the area spans 136 acres with a construction area of nearly 40,000 square meters across 59 buildings. It has now been transformed into a cultural and creative park with a substantial scale, divided into various zones such as the Global Beer Culture Area, Art Exhibition and Interaction Area, and Riverside Lifestyle and Leisure Area. For those fond of capturing industrial and metallic styles in photography, this location offers an excellent choice. The Smurfs Theme Park might be familiar to recent visitors to Shanghai, located in Songjiang District. Indeed, the first Smurfs theme park in the Asia-Pacific region has officially opened, situated within the Sheshan National Tourism Resort in Songjiang District, Shanghai. The Smurfs story is very familiar to those born in the 1980s and 1990s, and with the opening of this theme park, it’s a must-visit. Within the park, visitors can experience many classic scenes from the animation, as well as numerous amusement rides suitable for both children and adults, such as bumper cars and roller coasters. The park extensively utilizes AR interactive experience devices and holographic projection installations, providing a strong sense of immersion. Deep within the Smurfs Theme Park lies a ‘Dark Laboratory,’ which in the animation is Gargamel’s lair. However, upon entering, it’s far from scary and actually quite entertaining, prompting many to take photos as a memento. The final stop on this journey is the Chenshan Botanical Garden, covering an area of 2.08 million square meters. It is said that the Chenshan Botanical Garden is the largest botanical garden in the East China region and the second botanical garden in Shanghai. There are two main attractions in the garden: one is the quarry garden in the northwest corner, which was originally the west quarry of the Chenshan quarry. After transformation, the quarry garden now features waterfalls, cliffs, plank roads, and water curtains, making it a leading horticultural garden in China. The other is the tropical exhibition greenhouse, a complex of three individual greenhouses consisting of the Tropical Flower and Fruit Pavilion, the Succulent Plant Pavilion, and the Rare Plant Pavilion, with a total area of 12,608 square meters. In addition to admiring many plants from tropical regions, the greenhouses are beautifully arranged, making them perfect for girls to take some trendy, internet-famous photos.
Food Recommendations: ① Forest Hotel (Lunch) The Forest Hotel is a long-established hotel combining accommodation and dining. Built against the mountains, the villas are scattered elegantly, creating a very peaceful environment. If you’re visiting the Sheshan area, it’s highly recommended to try some signature dishes at the Forest Hotel. Traditional dishes like Grandma’s Braised Pork, Boiled Chicken, and Free-Range Chicken are all delicious and highly recommended. ② Kaiyuan Mingdu Hotel (Dinner) Since we planned to stay overnight at the Kaiyuan Mingdu Hotel, we decided to have dinner at the restaurant on the second floor of the hotel. As a restaurant in a five-star hotel, the dishes at Kaiyuan Mingdu are beautifully presented, taste great, and offer good value for money. ③ Uncle Xiao’s (Lunch) When in Songjiang, it’s essential to taste the authentic Songjiang cuisine, and Uncle Xiao’s is a well-known traditional Shanghai restaurant in Songjiang, highly recommended by Xiong Ying. Two dishes that Xiong Ying particularly enjoys are the Crab Shell Yellow and the Rice Field Crab Hand-Pounded Rice Cake. The Crab Shell Yellow, named for its crab shell-like appearance, is a traditional Shanghai snack. It has a soft crust that melts in your mouth, and the filling is layered and delicious. At four yuan each, it’s a great deal! The Rice Field Crab Hand-Pounded Rice Cake is also excellent, with plenty of crab roe and yellow, and the best part is the soft, glutinous, and non-greasy rice cake that’s not sticky to the teeth and very tasty. Accommodation Recommendation: Songjiang Kaiyuan Mingdu Hotel is located on the east side of Kaiyuan Square in Songjiang New City. The hotel has a great location, close to popular attractions in Songjiang such as Happy Valley, Sheshan Forest Park, Guangfulin, and Zui Bai Chi. Additionally, the hotel is only a 30-minute drive from Hongqiao Airport. For those visiting Songjiang for tourism or vacation, this hotel is an excellent choice. Practical Tips: Epidemic Prevention and Control: Due to the pandemic, all scenic spots have started epidemic prevention and control measures. It’s essential to make reservations in advance and apply for a Suishen Code, which staff at the scenic spots will check. Regarding Transportation: Songjiang District, and the city of Shanghai, have convenient urban transportation. The attractions in Songjiang District are relatively concentrated, and it’s recommended to choose between taking the subway, bus, or taxi based on your actual time.

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