Shanghai parks to resume operations on Mar 13

Six of Shanghai's major parks including Shanghai Botanical Garden, Shanghai Zoo, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Gongqing Forest Park, Guyi Garden and Riverside Forest Park will reopen starting on Friday after a month-long closure due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The opening of the parks comes just in time for residents to admire the blooming of rapeseed flowers and cherry blossom.

According to the Shanghai Zoo, its facility will be open from 8 am to 5 pm but the bird garden and the sections housing the amphibians and reptiles, bats, badgers and masked palm civets will remain closed.

The zoo said that it will also close its box office and entrance when the daily capacity of 30,000 visitors – half the utmost limit - is reached. All visitors must wear masks before entering the zoo, administrators added.

Other parks in the city will also gradually open to the public starting on Friday, according to a notice by the Shanghai Landscaping and City Appearance Administrative Bureau.