Chenshan Botanical Garden (辰山植物园)
Park · Songjiang · Shanghai. Shanghai's largest botanical garden: a quarry garden and dragon-like glasshouses.
Source: https://chinafootnotes.com/places/chenshan-botanical-garden · Data checked 2026-10-02 · Rendered for 2026-10-03 (Asia/Shanghai). Facts carry their status; "not found yet" means we searched and found no reliable source.
Notices in effect
- 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-07: Chenshan Nature Living Season: ~30 shows on the Flower Stage, daily 10:00 nature talk, market at Gate 2 on 6–7 Oct; included with admission.
- 2026-09-30 to 2026-10-03: Metro Line 9 runs extended late service.
Why go
Chenshan (辰山植物园) in Songjiang is Shanghai's biggest botanical garden. Its two showpieces are the Quarry Garden (矿坑花园), a century-old quarry pit turned into a sunken garden with a floating walkway and waterfall, and three huge curved glasshouses. It is a full day out from the city, best when you want space and plants rather than streets.
What to do
- Walk into the Quarry Garden. The Quarry Garden (矿坑花园) turns a century-old mining pit into a landscape of cliffs, a lake and a waterfall, with a floating bridge across the water.
- Tour the three glasshouses. Inside Gate 2 in the north-east corner, the 12,608 m² glasshouse group holds the Tropical Flowers and Fruits, Desert Plants and Rare Plants houses.
- Follow the official loop. The garden's suggested route runs from the Gate 1 visitor building past the Spring Garden, Rose Garden, Quarry Garden, rock and medicinal gardens, glasshouses, conifers, maples and the giant water-lily pool.
- Let children loose. The Children's Garden includes a pirate ship built on a small island, part of a play area of over 10,000 m².
- Don't miss: The maple garden (槭树园) on the official route, which colours up in autumn.
- Best time: Spring flowers or autumn colour; weekdays
- Skip if: Skip it if you have under three days in Shanghai: the trip out and back takes 2 hours or more.
Practical details
- Hours: Mar–Oct 08:00–17:30 · Nov–Feb 08:00–17:00
- Mar–Oct (03-01 to 10-31), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 08:00–17:30
- Nov–Feb (11-01 to 02-29), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 08:00–17:00
- From 1 November closing moves to 17:00.
- Admission: Ticketed · ¥60 adult
- Adult: ¥60 (All year)
- Sightseeing car: ¥5 — Per ride; pay by coin or QR code on boarding; under 1.3 m free without a seat
- Concession: Age 60–64 ¥50 (Valid ID)
- Concession: Students and under-18s (age 6–18; full-time students up to undergraduate) ¥30 (Student card)
- Free: Age 65+; children 1.3 m or shorter or aged 6 and under; disabled visitors; active military (Valid ID)
- One ticket per person; no refunds once sold.
- Discount days happen, such as ¥30 during the 12–27 Sep 2026 tourism festival.
- Booking: Buy online ahead; gate windows also listed
- Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden (上海辰山植物园) — WeChat → search 上海辰山植物园 → official account / mini-program → buy tickets
- Meituan / Ctrip (美团／携程) — Search 上海辰山植物园 in the app
- Ticket offices at Gates 1, 2 and 3 (1、2、3号门售票处)
- Passport accepted: unknown — Tickets are real-name; whether a passport works online is not documented.
- Tickets are bought with a real name and mobile number for a chosen date.
- Last admission: No separate last-entry time published
- Time to allow: 4–6 hr
- Getting there: Line 9 Dongjing → bus Songjiang 19/96 → Gate 1
- Metro Line 9 to Dongjing (洞泾), about 3 min walk
- Show a taxi driver: 辰山植物园1号门，松江区辰花公路3888号
- Map: Apple Maps · Amap 高德
- Address: 上海市松江区辰花公路3888号 / 3888 Chenhua Highway
- Foreign visitors: Passport purchase online not confirmed
Not found yet
- transport.metro[0].exit: No official exit number for the bus 19 stop at Dongjing; only an undated forum summary mentions Exit 4. (searched: official, WebSearch, media, government)
- booking.passport.accepted: No source says whether passports work in the real-name online ticket form or at gate windows. (searched: official, WebSearch, media, Trip.com)
- foreignVisitors.idToBring: Foreign-document, payment and English support not documented. (searched: official, WebSearch, Trip.com, media)
- lastAdmission.time: Official guide gives closing times only. (searched: official, WebSearch, media)
Traveler tips
- Buy your ticket online the day before. Adult tickets cost ¥60 and are sold by real name for a chosen date, through the 上海辰山植物园 WeChat account or mini-program, or on Meituan and Ctrip. A 2023 guide says tickets must be booked at least a day ahead; March 2026 coverage lists ticket offices at Gates 1, 2 and 3 but advises booking online to skip queues; and a visitor in late September 2026 bought a same-day mini-program ticket and scanned straight in. If you can complete the mini-program form, buying the evening before may save time at the gate. Caveat: Passport and overseas-phone acceptance in the form are unconfirmed; an older no-window rule conflicts with 2026 reporting of gate ticket offices. A domestic same-day visitor report does not settle foreign-document access. source
- Line 9 to Dongjing, then bus 19. Take Metro Line 9 to Dongjing (洞泾), then Songjiang bus 19 (松江19路) or 96 to Gate 1. Buses Songjiang 95 and the Songzhu Line (松朱线) go to Gate 2, the gate next to the glasshouses. A free station shuttle runs only on peak days such as cherry-blossom weekends, so do not count on it in October. source
- Close at 17:00 from November. From March to October the garden opens 08:00–17:30; from 1 November to the end of February it closes at 17:00. With a journey of over an hour each way and a large site, aim to arrive by 10:00. source
- Budget 4–6 hours and use the cart. The garden is large, so budget time and use the carts. A Trip.com guide suggests 4–6 hours and comfortable non-slip shoes. Sightseeing carts cost ¥5 per ride, paid by coin or QR code when you board, and children under 1.3 m ride free if they do not take a seat; the operator runs separate A and B routes. You must get off at each terminal, and pay again if you reboard after getting off along the way. On busy days the routes may be shortened; check the direction before boarding. Take a paper map at the gate because signs are sparse, and look for rowing boats (4- and 6-seat) near Gate 1. Caveat: The roughly 15-minute frequency and the ¥40-per-hour boat price (rentals ending 15:00) are visitor-reported; the official guide gives routes and fares, not that frequency. (3 travelers) source
- Start with the Quarry Garden. The Quarry Garden (矿坑花园) sits in a century-old mining pit restored as a sunken lake garden with cliffs, a waterfall and a floating bridge. On the official route it comes after the Spring Garden and Rose Garden, near Gate 1, so do it early before tour groups arrive. source
- Walk down into the quarry, not up the hill. The path into the Quarry Garden is one-way. Skip the climb up Chenshan hill: find the stairs going down beside the lotus pond, follow the boardwalk past the roughly 30 m waterfall and through a short tunnel, and you come out at the rock garden. The quarry stairs cannot be done with a stroller. Caveat: Route from a single visitor post (2026-09-29). source
- Enter by Gate 2 for the glasshouses. The three glasshouses — Tropical Flowers and Fruits (热带花果馆), Desert Plants (沙生植物馆) and Rare Plants (珍奇植物馆), 12,608 m² in total — stand just inside Gate 2 in the north-east corner. If they are your main reason to come, take a bus to Gate 2 instead of Gate 1. Continue to the Quarry Garden and lawns and leave by Gate 1, where the black swans and rowing boats are, so you do not double back; families may prefer Gate 3 for the children's area. (3 travelers) source
- Free shows on the National Day holiday. From 1 to 7 October 2026 the garden runs its Nature Living Season: about 30 performances on the Flower Stage (花朵舞台), including music, children's theatre, dance and traditional instruments, plus a nature talk there at 10:00 each day. On 6–7 October there is a market and folk-music pop-up by the Gate 2 shared space. Everything is included in the garden ticket. source
- Seniors 65+ and small children enter free. Visitors aged 65 or over, children 1.3 m or shorter or aged 6 and under, disabled visitors and active military enter free with valid ID. Ages 60–64 pay ¥50, and students and under-18s pay ¥30 with proof. Bring the original document you would use to prove age. Caveat: Whether foreign passports qualify for age-based free entry is not stated. source
- Bring water and snacks. Food inside is limited: a café on the ground floor of the Gate 1 building sells drinks and pastries, and small kiosks sell snacks and drinks. Bring your own water and snacks. Visitors in 2026 found prices fairly high (ice cream about ¥20) but mention water refill points; some order food delivery to a gate, so set the gate address (for example Gate 3) in the delivery app first or shops may show as out of range. Wheelchairs, strollers, walking sticks and umbrellas can be borrowed. (3 travelers) source
- Look for early autumn maples. On 28 September 2026 the garden reported the first autumn colour on its maples. The maple garden (槭树园) is on the official route after the conifer garden; check current foliage before setting out. source
Sources
- Shanghai Municipal People's Government (published 2024-03-22)
- Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden
- Shanghai Municipal Government Information Office
- Jing'an District People's Government (published 2026-09-11)
- Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden
- Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden
- Jing'an District via Shanghai Municipal People's Government (published 2026-09-11)
- Shanghai Landscaping & City Appearance Administrative Bureau (published 2026-05-14)
- 乐游上海 (Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, via Tencent News) (published 2026-03-12)
- 上海本地宝 (published 2023-05-16)
- Sohu (news repost)
- WanderingWishful (Trip.com Moments)
- Shanghai Municipal People's Government (published 2024-03-22)
- Shanghai Municipal Information Office
- Shentong Metro / Shanghai Municipal People's Government (published 2026-09-28)
- 娇娇子爱溜达 (published 2026-09-29)
- 冬禾的生活实验🌿 (published 2026-08-06)
- 叨叨小满 (published 2026-09-27)
- Ann （不回私信） (published 2026-09-12)
- 会飞的空气 (published 2026-10-02)