Chen Shan: Shanghai's Botanical Garden in Autumn
An hour from the centre, Chen Shan turns a former quarry into a garden of water, grass and glasshouses. Late autumn brings the grasses and the maples, and the crowds thin enough that the place feels private.
By Shanghai Welcome ·
A garden built into a quarry
Chen Shan, in the city's western Songjiang district, is not a botanical garden in the old formal sense. It is a former quarry remade: a flooded pit becomes a lake, the cut rock face is kept as a cliff, and the gardens are laid into the resulting hollow so that you walk down into the landscape rather than across it.
The effect is unusually quiet for a place this size. Sound pools in the hollow, the water holds reflections, and the greenhouses sit low on the far side. It is an hour or so from the centre, which is far enough to keep weekday crowds light and close enough for an unhurried half-day.
- •A former quarry remade into a sunken garden
- •Flooded pit as lake, cut rock kept as cliff
- •Sound pools in the hollow — unusually quiet
- •About an hour from the centre, light crowds on weekdays
What the season brings
Autumn is the garden's strongest season. The grasses in the meadow plantings go bronze and stay standing through November; the maples on the slopes colour late; and the lake reflects all of it in a way the summer's flat light does not manage. The greenhouses carry on regardless, which makes the garden weatherproof.
The sensible plan is to walk down into the hollow slowly, take the greenhouse route on the far side, and come back up through the meadow planting in the late afternoon. With a private car waiting at the gate, the hour each way stops costing you anything.
- •Meadow grasses go bronze and stand through November
- •Slope maples colour late; the lake doubles them
- •Greenhouses make the day weatherproof
- •Late afternoon through the meadow is the best return
For visitors who want the season in landscape rather than in streets, your private guide pairs Chen Shan's quarry gardens with the tea hills and West Lake beyond the city. All-inclusive private vehicle, guide, admissions and bottled water.
Explore Hangzhou West Lake & Tea Mountain →Pairing it with a day
Chen Shan works best as half of a day rather than all of one. The obvious companions are the water towns to the west, the old town of Songjiang itself, or a long lunch in the countryside before returning to the city in the early evening.
It also suits visitors who have already done the centre. After the Bund, the gardens and the towers, a sunken garden with almost no one in it is a useful change of register — Shanghai showing its quieter, greener edge.
- •Best as half a day, paired with the water towns or Songjiang
- •Works well after the central districts are done
- •A quieter register of the same city
- •Return to the centre in the early evening
Frequently asked questions
How do I get to Chen Shan Botanical Garden?
It sits in Songjiang, roughly an hour by road from central Shanghai. A private car makes the trip comfortable and lets you pair it with other stops the same day.
Is it worth visiting in autumn specifically?
Yes. The meadow grasses and slope maples are at their best from late autumn, and weekday crowds are light.
How much time should I allow?
Half a day is comfortable; a full day lets you add a water town or a long countryside lunch.
Beyond Shanghai
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