1. People’s Park

What Central Park is to Manhattan, People’s Park is to Shanghai. Dotted with museums and concert halls, Renmin Guangchang sits bang in the center of downtown surrounded by skyscrapers.

231 Nanjing Xi Lu

2. Lu Xun Park

Dedicated to revolutionary writer Lu Xun, this pretty park behind Hongkou Football Stadium contains his mausoleum as well as a lake, cherry trees, and rocky outcrops around which locals play chess and fly kites.

146 Dongjiangwan Lu, near Sichuan Bei Lu

3. Xujiahui Park

Located at the south end of Hengshan Lu, this green space sits at the tip of the Xujiahui commercial hub. Look out for the mysteriously glowing elevated path that cuts through the trees.

Between Hengshan Lu and Zhaojiabang Lu

4. Century Park

The big daddy of Shanghai parks, Shiji Gongyuan is the green lung of Pudong. Ride a bike along its wide boulevards, hire a boat on the lake, or commandeer a section of the lawn for lazing.

1001 Jinxiu Lu, near Minsheng Lu

5. Fuxing Park

Built as a park for the city’s French population in the 1900s, Fuxing is one of Shanghai’s prettiest parks. You may have staggered through it on your way home from Richbaby, but head down during the day and see it in a different light.

105 Yandang Lu, near Nanchang Lu

6. Changfeng Park

It’s worth the trek out to Changfeng for an afternoon of relative tranquillity. There’s also Changfeng Ocean World and a karting rink if you get bored of trees and grass.

525 Zaoyang Lu, near East China Normal University

7. Jing’an Sculpture Park

Get some art with your park time at Jing’an Sculpture Park, with its rotating displays of giant installations.

128 Shimen Er Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu

8. Shaoxing Park

As well as the Vienna Café and Old China Hand reading room, Shaoxing Lu has the city’s smallest park.

62 Shaoxing Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu

9. Zhongshan Park

Escape the crush of the shopping malls at this huge park with its lawns (most of which you can’t sit on, but they’re pretty to look at…), rock gardens and pavilions.

780 Changning Lu, near Kaixuan Lu

10. Gongqing Forest Park

Take a day trip up to the northerly reaches of Yangpu for a slice of true wilderness. Horses, wooden chalets, pine forests, and a panoramic view of the Huangpu.

2000 Jungong Lu, near Yinhang Lu

And a hidden gem you may not have heard of….

Guilin Park

This secluded park with its bridges, rock gardens and pavilions, was bankrolled by an infamous 1930s Shanghai gangster.

188 Caobao Lu, near Guilin Lu