(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-23 08:44

Pumpkins as small as a fist or as large as eight basketballs, gourds with water-melon type skin or square in shape, melons that look like snakes wiggling from the ceiling, balsam pears, chayoteare and many other weird vegetables challenge visitors' imagination.

Some plants which have been proved to be beneficial to human health can be seen there, including purple kohlrabi stem from the Mediterranean region, Talinum Paniculatum (jewels of Opar) and the long-handle gourd.

"We have set up cooperative programs with some hotels and supermarkets. These eco-friendly, organic vegetables will soon be available to citizens," Lin said.

The Garden of Fragrant Plants is home to mint, rosemary, basil, lavender, sweet marjoram, osmanthus, orchid, peony and many other aromatic plants. A stroll through the garden involves a delightful assault on the olfactory senses.

In the Four Seasons Orchard, you can see a variety of tropical fruit trees without even leaving Shanghai, these include banana, litchi, longan, papaya, dragon fruit, wax-apple and orange.

The Farming and Tillage Exhibition Hall has a display of agricultural tools, which reveal a brief history of the development of Chinese farming over the past 5,000 years.

In addition, old equipment for weaving, raising silkworms and milling are also on display.

Address: 1518 Xinghuo Road, Haiwan Town

Tel: 5750-5353

Ticket: 30 yuan (US$4.20)

Transport: A4 Expressway-A30 Expressway-Puxing Road-Minle Road-Xinghuo Road

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