After living in Shanghai for so many years, I surprisingly had never been to Sheshan. Sheshan is known as the backyard garden of Shanghai. Although it’s not the only mountain in the city, there are very few hills in Shanghai that you can actually climb, and Sheshan is arguably the most famous among them. It is divided into East Sheshan and West Sheshan. This time I visited West Sheshan, which has an elevation of about 100 meters; East Sheshan is even lower.
The area isn’t very large, and since the indoor attractions (the observatory and the church) were both closed, the entire visit took less than an hour. It felt like the actual climbing height was less than 100 meters. During the pandemic, advance reservations were required for entry. As expected, more people chose outdoor excursions, and the place was packed with crowds during the Qingming Festival holiday.
It was a pity that the church was closed, and the Stations of the Cross were also inaccessible. There wasn’t much scenery to see at the summit either, so it was mostly just about breathing some fresh air and enjoying the lovely sunshine.
There’s not much need to elaborate on Thames Town, as I’ve been there many times already. It is a British-style architectural complex (residential + public areas) jointly developed by several local Shanghai real estate developers. Covering an area of approximately 1 square kilometer with a green coverage rate of 60%, it has maintained decent popularity in recent years despite being built over a decade ago. There are far more visitors now than when it first opened, and commercial activity has flourished significantly. The public areas are basically filled with shops, no longer standing as empty shells. The earlier stores do look slightly worn, but overall, it remains a nice place for a stroll, a cup of coffee, or browsing through bookstores. However, residents living inside might have it a bit rough, having to compete with tourists for public resources. There are still plenty of wedding photography crews around, but generally speaking, given its large size, the crowd density remains relatively low, making it a great leisure destination in Songjiang.
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