Shanghai will hold two major citywide events this year, with the hope of welcoming its first national botanical garden.

This spring and fall, each in Shanghai, there will be a city-wide event worth looking forward to. At the same time, the construction of Shanghai Chengshan National Botanical Garden, which has attracted much attention, is expected to make substantial progress. The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Greening and City Appearance announced today (March 10) the progress of key public livelihood projects in the city’s greening industry for 2026.

This spring, Shanghai will host the International Flower Festival. The theme of this year’s Shanghai International Flower Festival is “Blooming Flowers and Prosperity,” aiming to become a globally influential horticultural event, attracting over 10 million visitors and boosting consumption in cultural, tourism, commerce, and entertainment sectors by more than 10%.

It is reported that the Shanghai International Flower Festival will take the entire city as its stage, with 2 main venues and 10 sub-venues. Additionally, multiple urban commercial districts will participate in exhibitions. During the festival, 2,000 new and high-quality plant species will be displayed, and over 150 activities will be organized, such as cross-industry collaborations with Shanghai Tower and Shanghai Museum, as well as dedicated flower economy routes at airports, subways, water tours, and land parades.

The Shanghai International Flower Festival aims to serve as a practical example of people-centered urban development, a demonstration model for urban floral economy, and a cultural brand of Shanghai as an international metropolis. Jin Weilen, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Greening and City Appearance, stated that the festival will be a flagship event integrating culture, commerce, tourism, and sports, shifting from the previous “government-led, market-participated” model to a “government-guided, market-led” approach.

Shanghai has successfully hosted the International Light and Shadow Festival for two consecutive years. Last year, 177 themed events were held across the main venue in Xuhui West Bank and 16 district sub-venues, with 4,685 light and shadow shows, 126 light art installations, 32 landmark buildings illuminated, and 80 “Light and Shadow+” interactive activities. The festival attracted over 21.8 million domestic and international visitors and citizens, boosting related commercial districts by over 4.98 billion yuan.

Lè Jiahua, Deputy Director of the Landscape Department of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Greening and City Appearance, introduced that the overall plan for the third Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival is currently being drafted, with an initial goal of attracting over 18 million visitors and driving consumption exceeding 4.3 billion yuan.

This year’s Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival will continue to be a city-wide,全民共享, immersive holographic light and shadow carnival. The festival will coordinate with night economy landmarks, popular nightlife spots, and 20 major tourist attractions to host light and shadow art activities, create “Light and Shadow Markets,” and develop “Light and Shadow Passports.” The city will feature 16 large venues and over 100 night scene check-in points, and will invite global artists to submit light and shadow artworks, making people of all ages participants and creators of the festival.

Notably, the third Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival will strengthen cooperation with sports events, linking with the Shanghai Rowing Open and Shanghai Marathon, and launching themed activities such as “Light and Shadow Rowing Carnival” and “Light and Shadow Night Run Challenge.”

The “Iris Coffee” Garden at the Huangpu New World Pavilion during the 2025 Shanghai International Flower Expo. Photo by Chen Xihan.

The second Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival featured a projection show called “Healing Energy Tank” at Xuhui West Bank. The building with orange-red lighting on the right side of the image is home to several new restaurants, which have attracted continuous visitors thanks to the festival. Photo by Chen Xihan.

Shanghai is already known as the “City of a Thousand Gardens.” Over the next decade, the city aims to build an additional 1,000 parks, bringing the total to 2,000. This year, Shanghai has launched a new round of park construction, planning to add 100 new parks.

Not only is the quantity increasing, but the quality of park green spaces is also steadily improving. This year, Shanghai is expected to welcome its first national botanical garden.

Shanghai has designated Chengshan Botanical Garden as the main entity for establishing a national botanical garden, with Shanghai Botanical Garden participating jointly, developing in a complementary manner.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Greening and City Appearance, the proposal for establishing the Shanghai Chengshan National Botanical Garden has been submitted. It must be approved by the State Council before the garden can be officially established. Approval is just the beginning; afterward, Shanghai will promote revisions and improvements to the national botanical garden plan, which will be jointly completed by Chengshan Botanical Garden and Shanghai Botanical Garden.

Once upgraded to a national botanical garden, many facilities and infrastructure will be enhanced. Chengshan Botanical Garden plans to renovate and update the exhibition greenhouses, improve the functions of the Chengshan Mountain Conservation Base, and upgrade the green ring spatial layout and landscape quality of the garden.

For a long time, some parks and green spaces have faced issues of “overbuilding and under-maintenance.” To ensure the quality of public services, Shanghai is studying an urban park health check system and revising guidelines for classified and graded management of urban parks.

Chen Q Wei, First-Level Investigator of the Public Green Department of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Greening and City Appearance, stated that Shanghai plans to introduce policies to improve the quality and efficiency of parks this year, launching a batch of innovative operation pilot parks and exploring cross-sector cooperation with performing arts, markets, catering, and educational activities.

Shanghai Greenhouse Night Scene. Photo source: Shanghai Expo Culture Park.

In March this year, Chengshan Botanical Garden’s Kawayama Cherry Blossom Avenue. Photo by Chen Xihan.