Astronomical Museum
A century-old telescope.
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Two wooded hills in Songjiang, in western Shanghai, about 30 km south-west of the city centre, rising out of the flat delta: West Sheshan and East Sheshan form part of a national forest park, and the western hill is crowned by a basilica and an old observatory. The basilica at the top was built by French Jesuits in the 1920s and 1930s to replace an earlier church of the 1870s, and pilgrims come every May. Beside it, the observatory the Jesuits founded in 1900 is now the Shanghai Astronomical Museum, with a telescope more than a century old that was restored in 2023, and a replica of the earthquake detector invented under the Han dynasty. Both hills are free with a real-name online booking, open from 8.30 am to 5 pm from May to early October and to 4.30 pm the rest of the year, and the Astronomical Museum costs CNY 12, booked in advance, per visitor guides. The nearest metro station is Sheshan on line 9.
A century-old telescope.
On the hilltop.
Shady paths.
Sheshan National Forest Park, Songjiang District, western Shanghai
Yes, both hills are free but need a real-name online booking, and the Astronomical Museum has its own booking at CNY 12, per visitor guides.