An aerial photo of the Shanghai Century Park, Jan 20, 2023. [Photo/VCG]

Shanghai's Century Park, the largest urban park in Pudong New Area, is set to open 24 hours a day starting May 1, the park's management confirmed.

The park has undergone extensive renovations, including the removal of over 3,000 meters of enclosures and the establishment of seven gateways since June. Facility upgrades such as lighting installation and intelligent security surveillance have been implemented to ensure safety for visitors during nighttime hours.

Similar renovations are underway in four other major parks in Pudong — Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park, Shanghai Wild Animal Park, Wishing Star Park and Celebrity Garden — in preparation for 24-hour operation.

The district's ecology and environment bureau wants all 153 parks in Pudong New Area to be accessible around the clock by the end of this year.

Shanghai is promoting the shared utilization of green spaces and aims to transform the concept of "parks within the city" into "the city within parks".

In its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Shanghai outlined its goal to increase the number of parks in the city to at least 1,000 by next year.

By the end of last year, Shanghai had established 832 parks and is committed to maximizing public access to them.

Since early 2020, the Shanghai Landscaping and City Appearance Administrative Bureau has been leading the charge in transforming formerly enclosed parks and green spaces affiliated with enterprises and institutions into public open spaces.

"Shanghai will become a city with thousands of parks," Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng said during the second session of the 16th Shanghai Municipal People's Congress in January.

In January 2022, a green space at the former Shanghai Civil Defense Office in Huangpu district was converted into a 1,848-square-meter public garden, marking the city's first opening and sharing of an institution-affiliated green space with the public. The trend has spread across the city, with numerous parks, university campuses and other public institutions dismantling their enclosures, granting residents unrestricted access to enjoy the public spaces 24 hours a day.

By the end of last year, more than 60 percent of the city's urban parks, including Lu Xun Park and Heping Park in Hongkou district, Jing'an Sculpture Park in Jing'an district and Zhongshan Park in Changning district, were open around the clock.

Shanghai aims to expand 24-hour access to 30 urban parks this year and promote the opening and sharing of 40 affiliated green spaces with the public, the Shanghai Landscaping and City Appearance Administrative Bureau said.