It’s not far to the metro station for Shanghai Sculpture Park – SheShan on Line 9. However, when you get there it’s a bit of scrum with buses and taxis and people whizzing around on shared bikes. Of course on a sunny weekend day in spring it’s even more frantic. I made the mistake of walking across the bridge towards the water park where a taxi driver promised to take me to the sculpture park for a large fee.
Walking back towards the metro station I joined a crowd of mostly young people pushing to get on a bus and when I asked the man if it was going to the sculpture park, he nodded without looking at me. It was the free bus which I had read about on the internet. 10 minutes later I hopped off in heavy traffic and walked past the lines of tents and picnicers the other side of the fence.
At the entrance I walked into the VIP area where I found two employees sleeping. I got the group discount rates I as looking for and then I tried pushing my luck by asking whether I could go in and have a look around. They kindly let me though into the grounds thereby saving myself the 100rmb entrance fee. To be hinest I wasn’t keen on paying it because it was quite lat in the day and the park gates closed 2 hours later.
I was pleasantly surprised by the park. It was clean and green and well organised with many picnic sites around a central lake and cafes dotted around. They were not cafes that filled the heart with cheer though – they were the sort of cafes which you would only really go into if you were either Chinese or western and desperate. The conference centre was a large cheerless shell with no staff in the dining area.
H
owwever, in the grounds the planting scheme and the sculptures were plentiful and very well done. Colourful tents shaded picnicers from the intense 35 degree heat and I made a mental note never to come here for an extended time without a tent. Pets are also allowed in the park and I saw several petty fights (and one amorous activity in the water) between dogs with their owners trying to prize them apart.
There was even a beach which looked clean and free of dog shit. All in all it wa
s a very pleasant place. It is fairly easy to get to and the entrance fee has been reduced from 120rmb to 100rmb and 50rmb for children. A group rate of 80rmb is possible if you can find 19 friends to go with you.
If you’re looking for somewhere to go out of the city centre on a warm day in Shanghai, the scupture park is a really good choice.