Shanghai's "Central Park" and central square are built on the site of colonial Shanghai's horse-racing track (dating to as early as 1863), once a favorite amusement for the British community and upper-class Chinese. Today, the original 12 hectares (30 acres) of the racecourse have been parceled out into a quiet, pleasant park in the north (complete with a small lake, rock garden, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Moroccan drinking and dining establishment Barbarossa, amusement rides, and clusters of old folks playing mah-jongg and chess, who on the weekends put up listings for their single children and grandchildren who are too busy to date or find mates), and Renmin Guangchang (People's Square) to the south. Opened in 1951 and renovated in 1994, with an intermediary spell as a public reckoning ground during the early days of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), the square is now Shanghai's cultural and traffic center, with an underground shopping arcade, the central subway station, the Shanghai Museum, the Grand Theatre, the 20-story Municipal Hall, and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. Besides being a magnet for locals who come here to feed the pigeons, fly their kites, and gossip on the benches, the square, surrounded as it is by some of Shanghai's tallest and most modern buildings, is also a wonderful place to take in exactly how much Shanghai has grown up.
Shanghai› Attraction
Renmin Gongyuan/Renmin Guangchang
Nanjing Xi Lu 231, Shanghai, China
Our Rating
Neighborhood
Huangpu Qu (at Huangpi Lu)
Hours
6am-late
Transportation
Metro: People's Square
Phone
021/6372-0626
Prices
Free admission

Map
Nanjing Xi Lu 231 Shanghai China ShanghaiNote: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.