Songjiang District

At the top of She Hill in Sheshan Park, Shanghai, stands the Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan, a large Romanesque structure built in the 1920s (replacing an earlier church from 1863.) It is in the large Sheshan National Forest Park, a huge outdoor area in western Shanghai including an amusement park, resorts, a planetarium and other attractions. I visited on a Sunday which was both Qingming Festival and Easter Sunday, so it was predictably busy, but only the initial climb up the hill was really crowded. Avoid this set of stairs (leading from the entrance gate) and climb from the east side, which has a gentler ascent and the Stations of the Cross along the way. Enjoy the relatively fresh air, fine view and many trees as you walk around the park. You can take the metro to Sheshan Station, from which point there are free shuttles. I opted to walk and it took about an hour from the metro station to West Sheshan Park where the basilica is located. From this side you can also get a city bus to the line 17 station, from which point I continued to Zhujiajiao, which is only a few stations further along. #LeaveYourMark #qingmingtravel #lightthecity #urbanexplorer #shanghai #park #forest #china