Century Park

Century Park (世纪公园, Shìjì Gōngyuán) is the largest park in this part of Pudong, 140.3 hectares of lawns, woodland and lakes at the end of Century Avenue. It sits beside the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, so it works as a break between museum visits or a place to spend a few unhurried hours away from the Lujiazui towers.

The park was built between 1996 and 2000 and opened to the public in 2000. Before that it was known as Pudong Central Park (浦东中央公园). The master plan came from the British firm LUC, and Chinese Wikipedia gives the total investment as about one billion yuan. The design mixes Chinese and Western garden ideas and is organised around big open lawns, stands of trees and water, rather than around a single monument.

The park is split into themed areas. Chinese Wikipedia lists a rural countryside area, a lakeside area, an open woodland and lawn area, a bird sanctuary, a foreign garden area and a mini-golf course. It calls these seven areas but names only six, so the count is unclear. English Wikipedia gives a similar list that includes a folk village and a nature reserve. Named features include the Century Flower Clock (世纪花钟), Mirror Sky Lake (镜天湖), a tall fountain and a music fountain, Bird Island (鸟岛) and the Montreal Garden (蒙特利尔园). The same source counts about 45 sites in all.

Visitors can also hire bicycles, ride sightseeing cars, take a boat, try the green maze or fish in the designated area. There is an exhibition hall, and there are cafes and shops inside the grounds.

Getting in is where sources differ. Older guides give a ticket price of 10 yuan and seasonal opening hours. More recent Chinese reports describe a park open around the clock: The Paper reported on 29 October 2024 that the park had added two pedestrian entrances to its existing 14, making 16, and called it a 24-hour park. One new entrance connects to Yinhe Bridge by a wooden boardwalk of about 120 metres; the other joins the park by a path of about 90 metres. We could not find an official page that settles the price or the hours, so check the park’s own channels before you go.

The address to show a taxi driver is 1001 Jinxiu Road, Pudong New Area (上海市浦东新区锦绣路1001号), which is the main gate. With 16 entrances, it is worth checking which gate is closest to where you are coming from.