A huge park out on Songjiang (probably Shanghai's largest green space) a good 50-minute taxi drive from the city center, great for a day out in nature without actually leaving the city. Designed by award-winning German landscape architects Valentien + Valentien, it covers a whopping 200 hectares (2 million square metres), with over 9,000 species of plants. There are various flower shows on display throughout the year, with highlights being the Cherry Blossoms in around Feb/March, the Orchid Show in around April and the Rose show in May. To get there, take the metro to Dongjing, which is on Line 9 toward Songjiang University Town. From Dongjing station, a short journey by taxi (20RMB), or the number 19 bus, will drop you at the Botanical Gardens’ main entrance gate.