Migratory birds fly over the reeds at Dongtan Wetland Park. Photo: Courtesy of the park
Tropical plants are showcased inside the greenhouse at Shanghai Chenshan Bontanic Garden Photo: Zhu Jialei/GT
If you have indulged yourself in too many parties and drink over the festive season, then you are probably in need of a New Year tonic. The Global Times has traveled around the city looking for eco-friendly ways to celebrate the coming Spring Festival.
Bird watching
Lying on the eastern tip of Chongming Island, the Dongtan Wetland is a pristine, biologically-diverse park with streams winding through a huge expanse of reeds that stretch as far as the eye can see. The wetlands are also home to a variety of migratory birds that flock into the area from November to March every year.
As China's only wetland park to neighbor a migratory bird reserve, this 24-square-kilometer park is hosting its first Migratory Bird-watching Festival this year to welcome outdoor enthusiasts and bird lovers to visit and appreciate this incredible landscape. Nearly 300 breeds of birds are known to arrive here from as far away as Europe and North America.
To provide better services during the two-month festival, the park has set up two professional telescopes at each of its six recommended bird-watching spots, free of charge. Visitors can also bring their own telescopes or rent a portable telescope from the park for only 10 yuan ($1.59).
Boating and bicycle-rental services are also available inside the park. However, to prevent migratory birds from being distracted by visitors, the park has set up a visitors' route that keeps the birds a safe 200-meter distance from the nearest humans.
And as migratory birds are known to be wary of bright colors, light and noise, the park also advises visitors to wear plain-colored clothes. They are also advised to switch off their flashes when taking pictures, and to keep their voices down when approaching the birds.
How to get there:
Visitors can take a shuttle bus from the Shanghai Tour Bus Centers at Shanghai Sports Center and Hongkou Football Stadium for 120 yuan (ticket fee included). Shuttle bus services are only available on weekends and the schedule for the coming Spring Festival has not been decided yet. Call 6426-5555 for more information.
Date: Until February 29
Add: Dongtan Wetland Park, Dongwang Road, Chongming Island
崇明岛东旺路东滩湿地公园
Tickets: Monday to Friday, 50 yuan at the door; Saturday, Sunday and national holidays, 80 yuan at the door.
Call 3936-7000 or check www.dongtanshidi.com for details
Flowers in the wind
The Shanghai Orchid Show begins on the first day of the Year of the Dragon and is hosted by the Shanghai Chenshan Botanic Garden. This will be Shanghai's first tropical orchid show of 2012 and will feature exhibits of rare and precious orchids transported from Myanmar, India, Indonesia and other tropical regions.
To jazz up the show, the garden will also be opening a children's skating center and funfair. There will also be song and dance performances during the festival.
Located in suburban Songjiang district, the Shanghai Chenshan Botanic Garden houses Asia's largest greenhouse space covering 12,608 square meters. Three individual greenhouses sit in the northeastern part of the garden, besides 26 themed gardens, including a quarry garden, a rock garden, a medicinal plant garden and a rare and endangered plants garden.
The garden has a unique collection of varieties indigenous to eastern parts of China that includes 9,000 species of plants and flowers.
How to get there:
Take metro Line 9 to Dongjing Station and then transfer to bus Route 19 to the park. Or you can get off the subway at Sheshan Station and then take a free rental bike along Linyin New Road to the park.
Date: January 23 to February 6
Add: Shanghai Chenshan Botanic Garden, 2888 Chenhua Road, Songjiang district
松江区辰花公路2888号上海辰山植物园
Tickets: 60 yuan
Call 3936-7000 or check www.csnbgsh.cn for details
The icemen cometh
Shanghai residents don't have to travel thousands of miles to Harbin to experience the wonder of ice. They can do it right here. This year the city is hosting its own ice sculpture exhibition, reputedly the largest of its kind in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Covering almost 2,000 square meters, this indoor ice sculpture exhibition was designed and created by 30 top-notch ice sculptors from Harbin. The exhibition is divided into four sections: the Red Classics, 5000 Years of China, Shanghai Sceneries, and Icy Miracles. Using more than 1,200 tons of ice, this exhibition features representations of tourist spots and historical sights such as Tiananmen Square, Beijing's Temple of Heaven, and Shanghai's Zigzag Bridge located in Yuyuan Garden. There are also statues of Mao Zedong and Confucius.
A set of ice sleds is located in a 50-square-meter play zone inside the venue, for children to play with. And if you are worried about the chill, visitors can rent warm coats from the information desk. It's a good idea because the temperatures inside the center can dip to about -10 C.
How to get there:
Visitors can take metro Line 7 and get off at Houtan Station. Leave at exit 4. Follow signs to the venue which is a 5-minute walk away.
Date: Until May 29 (closed from January 21 to January 25)
Add: Gate 8, Expo Park, 190 Yaolong Road, Pudong New Area
浦东新区耀龙路190号世博园8号门
Tickets: 100 yuan at the door, but you can get as low as 55-yuan ticket at group online shopping website www.nuomi.com
Call 5188-3698 for more information