Changxing Island

Changxing Island (长兴岛) is the middle of the three islands in the Yangtze estuary off Shanghai — the one the G40 tunnel-and-bridge passes through on the way out to Chongming, and, like tiny Hengsha beside it, part of Chongming District since 2005. The island is known first for building ships — the Jiangnan shipyard's showcase hall stands on its south bank — and second for the flat green ring around them: citrus orchards, reed beds, a sea-dike along the river and a metasequoia-lined spine road, 潘圆公路, that locals and weekend clubs ride as one long avenue. Everything here sits at river level. The three routes on this page are flat, and it is the wind rather than the gradient that decides the day.

The island is Shanghai's easiest day of flat riding, and the three lines are deliberately graded. The leisure loop starts at 桔园农庄 and runs about 7.5 km of quiet lanes, or roughly 14.5 km once it adds 长兴岛郊野公园 and 潘石公园 to the west — the family day. The grand loop is the counter-clockwise 50–55 km circuit of the whole island: the metasequoia spine, the south-bank greenway past the fishing harbour, the open western dike to 马家港, the 青草沙水库 perimeter and the north shore under the bridge. The double-island ride is the long one, 80+ km across two ferries, hopping the 长横对江渡 to Hengsha — the car-lightest of the three islands — for farm lanes, wind turbines, the 小白塔 and the seasonal paddy-field art.

Two things catch first-time visitors. The dike, greenway and reservoir legs have no shops, so water and food are carried rather than bought; and the reliable toilets all sit at the anchors — the Country Park gates, the harbour's farm restaurants, 开元名庭酒店 and the ferry piers — with open country in between. 长兴岛郊野公园, described as Shanghai's largest country park, is free with a reservation and takes a small pet fee. 长江第一滩, the harbour's roughly 800 m shoreline promenade, is the sunset spot and closes in the mid-afternoon, so plan it before the light rather than after it. The reservoir is perimeter-only, shipyard fences are not scenery to cross, and 潘圆公路 carries organised club rides at weekends — ride it like a road, not a path. Island ride-hailing is thin, so book the return before you need it.

Access is a crossing of your own choosing: the G40 tunnel-and-bridge from Pudong, about 40 km and roughly an hour with tolls each way; the 申崇四线 bus from Metro Line 6's 五洲大道站; or the 吴淞–马家港 ferry, which takes bicycles and is where the two-island day begins. Bikes are part of the plan either way — rented at the farm stay or carried across — and fares, bicycle rules and winter sailings all shift, so check the day's schedule before setting out. October and November are the island's best months: citrus harvest, long clear light across the dike and cool riding air. Spring is mild and green, summer is hot and bare on the open dike, and winter is cold, clear and the windiest of all. The island's other landmark is the farmhouse table, cooked at the harbour restaurants and at 桔园农庄, and the quietest miles are weekday mornings anywhere on the ring.