An aerial view of the Land of Starry Sky, the biggest park featuring sustainable urban flood management in Shanghai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Pudong New Area in Shanghai plans to build over 200 parks by the end of 2025 to improve its urban ecological environment, local authorities said.

Heqing Country Park, which is open 24 hours free of charge, is the first open country park built in Pudong New Area. The park is perfectly integrated with the neighboring villages, with infrastructure like street lights and bridges having been installed to improve the living environment of surrounding villages.

The 167-hectare park started its trial operation on Jan 1, providing visitors with gardens, fruit farms, cultural venues, parking lots, and high-quality toilets. In the future, visitors will be able to pick fruit and enjoy leisure time at the park.

There are currently 60 registered urban parks in Pudong, covering a total area of 827.19 hectares, according to the district's ecological environment bureau.

By the end of last year, a total of 190 hectares of greening construction had been completed in the Sunland wedge-shaped green space, with a completion rate of 72.5 percent.

The district plans to build and renovate 50 high-quality pocket parks by improving the functions of intersections, corners, and idle land, while also demolishing illegal buildings and utilizing the remaining green space.