Wenjin Street
Xicheng District
Beijing, China

This huge park situated just north of the Forbidden City covers some 69 hectares (170 acres) and includes areas of forest, hills, meadows, temples, and a lake. The park was built in the 1000s and was originally attached to the Forbidden City as imperial gardens, but later became a separate public green space. Among the more notable elements of the park is a Daoist temple, several classical Chinese gardens, and the White Dagoba, a 40-meter (131-foot) stone stupa that crowns the park from atop Qionghua Island in the middle of the lake. Beihai Park is a popular place for relaxing, picnicking, and light recreation. Paddleboats are offered for rent on the lake and elderly locals often use the park's pavilions to play and sing traditional Chinese music.

18 Gaoliangqiao Street
Haidian District
Beijing, China

This aquarium attached to Beijing Zoo holds title as the world's largest inland aquarium, with seven exhibition spaces that include coral reefs, a shark tank, and a marine mammal pavilion. Architecturally, the building is shaped like a conch shell, and inside the exhibitions flow together, so that one moment visitors are enjoying the splash of waterfalls in a rainforest and the next taking in the tactile delights of starfish and crabs in the Touch Pool. The aquarium also incorporates at 3,000-seat exhibition space where trained dolphins, seals, and sea lions put on daily shows for visitors. Among the more unique of the exhibitions here is the Rare Chinese Sturgeon Hall, which imitates the Yangtze River environment that the Chinese sturgeons live in.

Bajiao Underground Railway Station
Beijing, China

Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park was established in 1986. The park contains more than 66 amusement facilities, each constructed in a unique style, and gardens that offer beautiful, scenic views. The park's many attractions include the Gothic Cinderella Castle, Arabic Restaurant, European Blue Bridge, Russian Entrance Hall, a roller coaster, Warrior Turnplate, Giant Wheel, Magic Manor, UFO Bicycle, and Waving Chair. The park also contains a waterpark that has waterslides, wave pools, and children's pools. 

131 Xi Zhi Men Wai Avenue
Beijing, China

Founded in 1906, the Beijing Zoo (also known as Western Suburbs Park or Xijiao Gongyuan) features many exotic and rare animals. Covering an area of 50,000 square meters, the grounds consist of cultivated flower gardens, grasslands, tree groves, and some old buildings. The zoo contains about 7,000 creatures, including giant pandas, tigers, deer, yaks, sea turtles, polar bears, kangaroos, zebras, and more than 100 species of reptiles. The zoo complex consists of 30 halls that are used to display different habitats and plant life. The zoo is also home to China’s biggest ocean hall, which not only displays a variety of fish but also conducts dolphin and sea lion shows.

858 Fang Dian Road
Pudong, Shanghai, China

This sprawling mass of concrete and grassland in the Pudong district represents everything modern in Shanghai. Quite unlike the leafy older parks of China, this huge civic area is an open swath of grass, austere lakes, and children's playground equipment, all interconnected by meandering concrete walkways. Like much of this part of Shanghai, Century Park is only a few years old-a fact made very obvious by the small sapling trees and baby bushes that are still growing here. Most interesting about Century Park is its ultra-modern atmosphere and the views it offers toward Shanghai's skyline of tall buildings, making the entire place feel like something from an episode of the space-age cartoon The Jetsons. Among the many activities available here are bicycling, fishing, boating, and kite-flying.

Yingbin Lu Dashi Town
Panyu District, Guangzhou, China

Opened in 2006, this massive amusement park stands in the Panyu District, a southern suburb of Guangzhou. Designed by a Canadian firm, Chimelong Paradise is an amusement park with rollercoasters and other rides. It also includes the zoo-like Xiangjiang Safari Park, a waterpark, circus, golf center, and crocodile park. It would be impossible to visit the entirety of Chimelong in a day, so plan to spend the weekend exploring all its possibilities, or pick and choose your favorites. 

Lianshi Road and Liantang Road
Luohu District
Shenzhen, China

Easily one of the most beautiful parks in the area, this botanical garden was established in 1983, when Shenzhen was just emerging as a modern Chinese city. Located at the foot of Wutong Mountain, the park sprawls across 1,450 acres that are a combination of landscaped garden and lush natural areas. Among the more interesting of the 17 gardens here are the Bonsai Garden, which displays those truly odd miniaturized trees first made popular in Japan, and the Bamboo Garden. There are some 7,800 plant species growing here-a testament to the sheer size of the place, which would put most botanical gardens around the world to shame-and the modernity of the facility comes through in the designs of many of the installations and structures. A stop into the uniquely placed Paleontological Museum offers a small exhibition of skeletons, fossils, and model dinosaurs. Admission is ¥20.

120 Xianlie Middle Lu
Guangzhou, China

It makes sense that the third-largest city in China would be home to one of the country's three largest zoos. Guangzhou Zoo houses some 400 species of animals, most of which were raised on the premises. A number of rare Chinese animals abide here, including South China tigers and, of course, pandas. Oddly, the zoo also claims to have the world's shortest horse. The ocean exhibition and butterfly garden are both particularly well designed, while a petting-zoo pavilion known as Animals Plaza allows visitors to get up close and personal with all sorts of friendly creatures.

Jinchan West Road
Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

Eastern Beijing’s Happy Valley is an amusement park that opened in 2006. It has a variety of rides for all ages including a train, carousel, rollercoasters, simulators, bumper cars, whitewater rafting, rotating swings, spinning teacups, and more. In addition to rides, the park hosts live entertainment such as theater, music, and dance performances as well as magic shows. Eateries and stores provide options for dining and shopping.

888 Linhu Road
Songjiang District, Shanghai, China

Opened in 2009, Happy Valley is an amusement park located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from downtown Shanghai. It has a variety of rides for all ages including a train, carousel, rollercoasters, simulators, bumper cars, whitewater rafting, rotating swings, spinning teacups, and more. In addition to rides, the park hosts live entertainment such as theater, music, and dance performances as well as magic shows. Eateries and stores provide options for dining and shopping.

Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town
Nanshan District
Shenzhen, China

This traditional theme park is one of the most popular in Shenzhen. It consists of a number of areas that are home to rides and games designed according to themes such as Spanish Square and Typhoon Bay. There also is a dedicated waterpark called Playa Maya that is styled in ancient Mayan kitsch and is open only during the warmer months of the year. The fact that many elements of the park's design and themes bear obvious resemblances to other famous theme parks around the world doesn't detract from the generally fun atmosphere of the place, which is kept surprisingly clean and tidy. The rides, too, are remarkably modern and include several spiraling rollercoasters, a couple of free-fall-style rides, and a 4D film experience. 

Overseas Chinese Town, Dameisha East
Yantian District, Shenzhen, China

The sightseeing area of Heroes Valley offers a variety of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy. A 480-meter-high (1,575-foot-high) viewing platform called Sea of Clouds provides panoramic views of the Overseas Chinese Town and cable car rides. For more views take a ride on the 110-meter-tall (361-foot-tall) Eye of Nature observation tower. In addition, there are several amusement rides, a 4D movie theater, children’s playground, and video game arcade.  Also included is the summertime attraction known as OCT East Waterpark, which provides fun under the sun for all ages. It features waterslides, a lazy river, surf simulator, wave pool, and shallow play areas for little ones.

Xicheng District
Beijing, China

Jingshan Park is a beautiful park, built in 1179 during the Jin Dynasty. It is the highest point in Beijing and covers an area of about 23 hectares (57 acres). The park contains the Jingshan Hill, which allows an overview of the entire city of Beijing from its summit. The park is also home to the Shouhuang, Yongsi, and Guande palaces. Today, many trees and other attractions have been added to try to restore the park to its former beauty. The park is also a popular location for hosting various shows and exhibitions. The park's most famous attractions are the peonies, and visitors can view more than 200 varieties of peonies from late-April to mid-May.

201 Hongmei Road
Minhang District, Shanghai, China

Opened in 1985, Jinjiang Action Park was Shanghai’s first large-scale amusement park. It offers more than 40 rides including a ghost train, flume, rollercoasters, river rafting, bumper cars and boats, haunted house, and the 108-meter-tall (354-foot-tall) Shanghai Ferris wheel. In addition to rides and midway-style games, the park has a volcano-themed movie theater and a 4D movie. Shops and eateries offer options for shopping and dining.

Nine-Village Gully National Park

Nanping County
Sichuan, China

Jiuzhaigou (Nine-Village Gully) National Park, located in the mountains of Nanping County, covers an area of 72,000 square kilometers (27,799 square miles). Jiuzhaigou Valley measures more than 4,800 meters (15,748 feet) in height and comprises a series of varied forest ecosystems. The park mainly consists of three major gullies, spectacular waterfalls, alpine lakes, diverse vegetation that includes rare flowers and grasses, various endangered species of wildlife, and rare birds. Famous sites in the park include the Lying Dragon Lake, the massive Magic Mirror Cliff, Nuorilang waterfalls, Pearl Shoal, and Long Lake, the largest lake in the valley.

Lianhuashan

Futian District
Shenzhen, China

This sprawling urban park is Shenzhen's largest and greenest open space. Located on the north side of Futian District, just behind the Shenzhen Cultural Center (Library and Concert Hall), the park is a local's favorite destination for getting outside and away from the busy, hectic atmosphere of modern Shenzhen. The best time of day to visit the park is undoubtedly the early morning, as this is when hordes of locals pour into the park for impromptu tai chi sessions, aerobics classes to loud music, and games of chess. On any given day in Lotus Mountain Park, you are likely to hear groups of elderly people singing revolutionary songs through shoddy portable speakers, or to watch a calligrapher paint delicate Chinese symbols on the sidewalks in water. If you wander up to the top of Lotus Hill, you'll experience some lovely views of Shenzhen City. There is also a large bronze sculpture of Communist leader Deng Xiaoping, who presides over the city from a high vantage.

Jiangxi, China

Lushan National Park, a popular tourist location, is famous for its beautiful scenery and cultural heritage. Stretching for about 829 square kilometers (320 square miles), it contains more than 90 mountain peaks, the tallest of which is the 1,474-meter-tall (4,836-foot-tall) Hanyang Peak. The major attractions of the park include beautiful natural attractions like rivulets, rocks, waterfalls, grottoes, ravines, steles, and cliff inscriptions. Some of the park's most popular attractions are Ruqin Lake, Xianren Dong, Sandie Spring, Wulao Feng (a mountain range), Lulin Lake, Flower Path, Dolphin Temple, and Jinxiu Valley.

Dapeng Bay
Shatoujiao Shenzhen
Guangdong, China

Minsk World is a unique military theme park that was opened in 2000. The park's primary attraction is the massive decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Minsk, which is now a major tourist attraction and also acts as a portion of the park's grounds. The displays include armed helicopters and MiG-23 fighter planes. The upper deck, the size of three soccer fields, is the main exhibition center of military equipment and contains take-off and landing runways. The carrier also features weaponry like ship-to-ship and ship-to-air guided missile launchers. The most popular attractions on the carrier are the six centrifuges that offer visitors an experience in weightlessness. Since its inauguration, the carrier has attracted over 5 million visitors.

Dongwei Road
Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

Part of Tulip Hot Spring Garden Resort, Morui Water World is a 35,000-square-meter (376,737-square-foot) indoor waterpark. Attractions include several swimming pools, waterslides, a lazy river, surf simulator, hot tubs, and thermal baths. There also are shallow castle-themed play areas for little ones. In addition, the park also shows films on its huge screen made from water.  

Olympic Park
Beijing, China

In 2008, the Summer Olympic Games took Beijing by storm, transforming the city into a sporting wonderland. Numerous new structures went up, including the huge Olympic Green, home to the National Stadium (known as the Bird's Nest because of its chaotically interlaced steel design) and the National Aquatics Center (also called the Water Cube because of its plastic, bubbled exterior), both of which are open to the public for tours. The grounds themselves make for an interesting few hours of sightseeing, and the large forest park to the north of the Green is a lovely open space with canals and parkland. Tickets to the Stadium and Aquatics Center are sold separately and offer access to each of the buildings to see where the main Olympic events were held in 2008.

Wusheng Road
Huangpu
Shanghai, China

Located smack-dab in the center of Shanghai in the established Huangpu District, People's Square is the city's main municipal park. Unlike the austere, modern Century Park, People's Square is a leafy complex of Chinese-style gardens containing ponds, rose bushes, trees, and rock formations at its northern end. Several upscale shops and cafés (including the ubiquitous Starbucks), as well as the Shanghai Art Museum, edge this part of the park. The southern end, meanwhile, is a huge concrete open space that is home to the Shanghai Museum and Shanghai Grand Theater. People's Square is a wonderful place to escape the heat and noise of Shanghai, or even to take in a game of cards or mahjong with the locals.

Binhai Road
Futian District
Shenzhen, China

Situated just a couple of miles north of Hong Kong's famed Mai Po Marshes-legendary for birdwatching-is China's smallest national park. Named for the red-tinted trunks of the mangrove trees that grow in the wetlands around the park,  Red Forest Mangrove National Park was nearly destroyed by the construction of a freeway in the 1990s. Though small, the park is an important resting stop for migratory birds along the East and Australasian Flyway. Each year, around 180 different types of birds pour into the park, at least 20 of which are considered rare or protected species. Even for those not interested in birding, Mangrove National Park makes for a very pleasant visit, with meandering sidewalks that follow the seashore and provide excellent views.

Xili Road
Nanshan District
Shenzhen, China

This large wildlife park is Shenzhen's answer to a zoo. The park is home to at least 300 species and more than 10,000 different animals altogether, making it one of the largest zoological parks in the country. Most of the species remain within the typical selection of zoo animals: tigers, elephants, and monkeys, as well as several pandas that are always among the most popular with visitors. Zoos in China are not necessarily known for being the most humane places on earth, but the Safari Park Shenzhen does pretty well, allowing some animals to roam in large, open-space habitats rather than confining them in small cages. Still, compared to some well-known international zoos, this park shows its age in the rather out-of-date architecture and faded plastic menageries that decorate it.

1388 Lujiazui Road
Pudong
Shanghai, China

China's largest aquarium is located next to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Opened in 2002, Shanghai Ocean Aquarium has 28 exhibit areas, most of them huge tanks that house sea creatures from every continent. Among them, the most prized is Bruce, a 43.5-centimeter (17.2-inch) Orlanda goldfish, named in honor of martial arts hero Bruce Lee. The aquarium's other claim to fame is its round, glass-encased walkway tank. The longest in the world, this tunnel takes you down an escalator and through a circular hallway, all the while making you feel suspended within a cloud of water populated by stingrays and eels. This is one of the better aquaria in the world and is well worth a few hours of time to escape the Shanghai heat. 

1158 Linyin Xin Road
Songjiang
Shanghai, China

Located in the southwest of Shanghai's urban center, Shanghai Sculpture Park is one of Shanghai's most unusual attractions. It's literally an art park installed within the rolling hills, where dozens of modern sculptures made by artists from all over the world can be enjoyed. As you tour, you will encounter strange circular masses of steel, oblong concrete spires, carved figures partially submerged in water, and even a stone lotus garden. Also on the grounds is the Yehu Museum of Art, which hosts a rotating lineup of exhibitions that generally focus on sculptural arts; these have included car displays, kinetic sculptures, and ceramics.

Nonglin Road
Futian District, Shenzhen, China

Shenzhen Children’s Paradise is a small amusement park that offers rides and activities for children. Some of the rides include a double-decker carousel, train, log flume, rollercoaster, Ferris wheel, and bumper cars. Kids can explore several playgrounds including a ship-themed play area that has water features during summer. In addition, there is outdoor gym equipment for those looking to get some exercise. Vendors sell souvenirs and refreshments.

Shennan Avenue
Nanshan District
Shenzhen, China

This big amusement park celebrates all things China through a number of displays and performances set in two areas: the Miniature Park and the Folk Culture Village. The main draw of the theme park is the collection of scale models of China's most famous tourist sights, such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Terracotta Warrior Army. Even the foreboding new Three Gorges Dam is scaled to 1/15th of its size inside the park. Although the models are admittedly somewhat cheesy, the likeness and detail are nonetheless impressive. The Folk Culture Village, meanwhile, is dedicated to the 56 recognized ethnic minorities within China, and is most popular for its selection of shows and dances that incorporate the costumes and traditional rituals of the many minority groups, including several modern takes (such as the Tibetan rock band). A combined ticket includes entrance to both sides of the park for ¥120; you will want between two hours and a half-day to see everything.

Between Chang'an Avenue and Qianmen Street
Beijing, China

Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) Square is a large plaza that covers a total area of 440,000 square meters. Built in 1417 and renovated in 1699, it is located at the heart of Beijing and possesses great cultural significance as the stage for many key events in Chinese history. Lying between two huge ancient gates, Tian'anmen in the north and Qianmen to the south, the square is a flat stretch that contains two structures, the Monument to the People's Heroes and Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. The square is the site of a number of critical events, including the infamous Tian'anmen Square Massacre in 1989, where student-led protestors critical of the Chinese government where shot and killed.

Shenzhen, China

Window of the World is a theme park that was opened in late 2004. Covering an area of 480,000 square meters (5,166,677 square feet), its main attractions are the 130 replicas of some of the world's most famous tourist attractions like the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Niagara Falls, Angkor Wat, Leaning Tower of Pisa, London Tower, Coliseum in Rome, Sydney Opera House, Grand Canyon, and Egyptian pyramids. The park also features mini exhibitions of famous international figures as well as a wide variety of restaurants. The park hosts a number of annual festivals like the Cherry Festival, Indian Cultural Week, International Beer Festival, Pop Music Festival, and other events.

Jiefang N Road
Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, China

Also known as Yuexiu Hill, this hilly park is Guangzhou’s largest encompassing about 92 hectares (227 acres), including three lakes. It features one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the Five-Ram Statue. In addition, the park offers a variety of activities for all ages with outdoor recreation such as hiking, biking, boating, and wildlife viewing. The park also includes playgrounds, gardens, athletic fields, public art displays, museums, shops, and restaurants.

Guangzhou
Guangdong, China

Built in 1952, Yuexiu Park covers an area of about 100 hectares (247 acres) made up of seven hillocks and three artificial lakes (Dongxiu, Nanxiu, and Beixiu) and offers visitors opportunities for viewing cultural relics. The most famous and interesting structures in the park are the stone sculptures of the five rams, known as Sculpture of Five Rams. Another popular attraction is the Zhenhai Tower (Five-Story Tower), the only remaining portion of Guangzhou's original city walls. Apart from other attractions, the park contains several recreational and amusement facilities including restaurants, a stadium, and a roller coaster.

Anren Jie Shanghai
Shanghai, China

Established in 1559, Yuyuan Garden is ranked among China's best gardens. The gardens are a national monument and cover an area of 2 hectares (5 acres) divided into six areas, namely Grand Rockery, Heralding Sporting Hall, Sansui Hall, Inner Garden, Lotus Pool, and Ten Thousand-Flower Tower. The biggest attraction of the Yuyuan Garden is the Exquisite Jade Rock. It is one of the most famous rocks in the south and measures about 3 meters (10 feet) in height and contains 72 holes. As a result, when a joss stick is burnt under the rock, smoke pours out of all the holes. Similarly, water poured on the rock pours out of the 72 holes, creating a beautiful sight.