Shanghai Botanical Garden

Overview
Founded in 1974, the Shanghai Botanical Garden is located in the Southwest of Shanghai on Longwu Road. Occupying an area of 81 hectares (200 acres), it is the largest municipal botanical garden in China. The garden is divided into different sections featuring peonies, roses, bamboo, azaleas, maples, osmanthus, magnolias, and orchids. There are also restaurants, exhibition halls, vendors’ stalls, and several children’s playgrounds dotted throughout the park.

Perhaps The most interesting part is actually the Penjing (known in the West as bonsai) Gardens located within the larger garden. Hundreds of bonsai are displayed in a large complex of corridors, courtyards, pools, and rockeries in the garden. The garden acts as a comprehensive education with regards to introduced species, scientific knowledge and research, education and tourism and leisure. The garden has introduced many kinds of foreign ornamental plants, particularly rare and endangered species. The garden has also won prizes and awards at international flower shows in countries such as Canada and Holland. 

Introduction
Covering 81.86 hectares, the garden has a diverse collection of Chinese plants,including 3500 species of local regional flora from the Middle and Lower Yangtze River are located in the gardens.

The Penjing Garden was established in 1978 and is 4 hectares (9.9 acres) in size.A penjing museum was added in 1995.The 5000 square metre Tropicarium was opened to the public in 2001. It is a conservatory with 3500 species of tropical and subtropical plant.

Established in 1988, The Magnolia Garden covers 1.51 hectares and has 40 species, including Magnolia denudata, Magnolia liliiflora, Magnolia grandiflora, Magnolia cylindrica, Magnolia amoena, Michelia chapensis, Liriodendron chinense and others, including Magnolia and soulangeana.Established in 1980, the Peony Garden covers 3.24 hectares and has 120 cultivars of tree peony that were developed in China.

The Bamboo Garden was established in 1978 and has 74 species of bamboo across its 3.6 hectares. The 5.33 hectares of the Conifer Garden contain 280 species and varieties of conifer.

The garden employs 100 horticultural staff, 10 educational staff and 30 research staff.

The Shanghai Botanical Garden is divided into four spacious sectors that specialize in magnolias, peonies, azaleas, roses, osmanthus, ferns, bamboo, maples, and conifers. The orchid garden is considered the best in China. The gardens are a tool for education, scientific research, sightseeing and production. The gardens also act in the training of introduced species. A new area known as the 'Plant Evolution Section' has been built inside the complex where where horticultural experiments are conducted. This is a more traditional garden in which medicinal plants are grown and harvested.

1?China's Largest “Potted Landscape Park” 
There is a new area, the “Plant Evolution Section”, where horticultural experiments are conducted, and a more traditional garden in which medicinal plants are grown and harvested. The hallmark section is the “Penjing Bonsai Garden”, with hundreds of bonsai displayed in a large complex of corridors, courtyards, pools, and rockeries. There is an attached “Rock Penjing” display, as well, in which rocks are carved and glued together to form miniature mountains that are placed in trays of water; this is China's largest “potted landscape park”.

2?Modern Botanical Greenhouse 
The Exhibition Greenhouse is a newly developed modern botanical greenhouse. It consists of two smaller greenhouses, one for tropical plants and the other for sand plants, the former focusing on the themes of gardens in which flowers of all seasons are displayed and tropical rain forests, producing a vivid tropical view with flowers competing for beauty, the latter, on the other hand, being a collection of the world's strangely-shaped cactuses and rare succulent plants, vividly displaying the views of tropical plains, which, set off by deserts, camels, and the setting sun, makes people feel as if they were walking in a desert. Tourists can fully feel the mystery and changes of the world of plants. The Exhibition Greenhouse not only provides tourists with guiding services, but also with rooms for science popularization, thus enabling the tourists to acquire knowledge about relevant plants while experiencing the beautiful views.

The garden grounds are extensive, punctuated with restaurants, exhibition halls, vendors' stalls, a greenhouse with 3,500 tropical plants from Southeast Asia, and several children's playgrounds.

Information
Address: 947 Longwu Lu, near Baise Lu

Admissions Fee: CNY 15
Admissions Fee and Conservatory: CNY 40

Opening Hours:Main Gate: 6:00 - 18:00; Conservatory: 8:30 – 17:00

Transportation
Light rail Routes:Take light rail line Mngzhu to Shanghai Botanical Garden directly.

Bus Routes: Entrance No.1: Take 56, 714, 720, 770, 820, 824, 958, 973, 178 and get off at Longwu Road. Conservatory, Medicinal Plant is near this entrance. No parking lot nearby.

Entrance No. 2: Take 56, 714, 720, 770, 824, 958, 178 and get off at Longwu Road. Demonstration Garden, Temple of Huang Dao Po is nearby. There is a Parking lot for 150 cars, each CNY 10 per day.

Entrance No.3: Take 957, 973, 131, 718, 720, 820, 824, 857 and get off at Baise Road. Maple, Osmanthus, Garden of Rose and Bamboo Garden is nearby. There is a Parking lot for 15 cars, CNY 10 per day.

Entrance No.4: Take 111, 144, 156, 857, 957 and get off at Luocheng Road. Penjing Garden and Laboratory is nearby. No parking lot.