Looking to explore in Shanghai while knowing you can't do too much? Qingxi Country Park is a nice half day exploration here in the big city. Qingxi Country Park is located in Qingpu district, on the outskirts of Shanghai city.
Address: 500 Zilian Road, Jinze Town, Qingpu District, Shanghai, China
Opening Hours: 8:30am - 4:30pm (last entry is 4pm).
To reach Qingxi, you can take the Metro Line 2 (or Line 10) to Hongqiao Railway and transfer to Line 17. Travel Line 17 to the end of the line at Oriental Land. From here you can choose to take Bus 28 or take a DiDi (advisable to Parking Lot 2). Once here, you'll find advisors ready to help you board the shuttle bus and help you check QR codes for entry. The WeChat mini program for booking tickets didn't work for me, so they were happy with just showing green codes.
Qingxi Country Park is has everything from wetlands and lakes to woods and fish ponds, with the central lake sitting in the center of the overall park. Covering a huge amount of land, you would probably want to aim at setting aside at least 3-4 hours if you want to walk around to the main sites by foot.
Once you board the shuttle bus, it takes you to another bus park, from here you can buy a 30RMB (round trip) ticket to the Ecological Zone or walk through the Forest Park. I can't lie, I had no idea what was going on, so just followed the mass of people. The shuttle ride to the Ecological Zone took about 10 minutes, but it did drop us at the entrance to the main attraction. It was fairly busy, but somehow I was allowed to just bypass the people waiting.
The Ecological Zone has a few sections that are worth checking out, there's also a 'Birds of Prey' area so you can bird watch. There is no fee for entering here. Following the path round I believe I took the backwards route, it was quiet and just a few older women around taking photos amongst the trees.
By following the main path, you can't get lost. Eventually you arrive at a walkway which goes through the middle of the trees, this is where everyone is taking photos and stopping. I asked an older lady to take my photo for me in this area and she was happy to help (always ask those also taking photos though).
After walking around this main attraction, I opted to take the shuttle bus back to the entrance and head back to the Metro station. A good few hours out in the Autumn fresh air. However, many people do take the time to explore the surrounding area, as the Water Forest part is actually only a small part of this Country Park.
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