Shanghai Botanical Garden 上海植物园 is a very large park and garden in the southwestern part of Shanghai. The 82 hectare gardens contain a diverse collection of plants and flowers. The Tropical and Four Seasons Conservatories are two large green houses filled with tropical and desert plants.

Getting There

Shanghai Botanical Garden
No.1111 Longwu Road,
Xuhui District, Shanghai 200231, China

上海植物园
200231徐汇区龙吴路1111号

Use Google Maps

Use Smart Shanghai iPhone app for a taxi-friendly address.

1. Take metro line 3 to Shilong Road station 石龙路站.
2. Exit the station onto Shilong Road and cross over the pedestrian bridge to Dongquan Raod.
3. Park entrance #4 is at then end of Dongquan Road.

Fees

Garden entry fee is ¥15. Tickets to visit the two Conservatories is ¥30.

See & Do

Stop and smell the flowers. Literally.

The Tropicarium is a large glass structure housing plants like orchids, bananas, and other tropical species. The Four Seasons building is sectioned into two climates: dry desert for cactus displays and humid tropical.

The Magnolia Garden is about 1.5 hectares and has many species of magnolia (if you like them and know what you’re looking at). Many more exhibits are worth exploring, including the Rhododendron garden, Herb garden, Rosary, and Bamboo exhibits.

You can rent a little boat and putter around a small lake. In at least two sections there are play structures and activities for young children.

Overall, plan to spend your time here walking around, admiring plants and flowers, and taking pictures.

My Review of the Garden

I was not impressed. The gardens are nice, but I wouldn’t recommend visiting unless you have the time or are an ardent gardener.

Despite the many flowers and plants arranged in various ways, nothing stands out. It’s more like a giant office park where maintenance workers stick plants in beds and move on to the next. It’s way too big and no single exhibit appears to have received enough budget and attention to make it great.

Throughout my visit I felt like the plants inside were not well taken care of and some were dead or dying. The buildings are in disrepair, although this is consistent with many of the facilities you find in China. There is a lot of trash everywhere in the water features, in the bushes, all over.

Move on.