Sheshan East & West Peaks Traverse

Enter East Sheshan Park 东佘山园 at the South Gate on Waiqingsong Highway 外青松公路 9511 号 — free, no ticket. Just inside stands the statue of Xu Xiake 徐霞客, the Ming traveler who came to this hill three times, twice to call on the recluse scholar Chen Jiru 陈继儒. The main ascent is the 368 Steps (368登山道): steady, consistent stone stairs under bamboo and broadleaf shade, reaching Baishi Pavilion 白石山亭, a rest pavilion whose name echoes the white-stone hermitage (白石山房) where Chen Jiru lived after the age of 29 — verify the naming link on the plaque before repeating it as fact. Just beyond, the trail drops into the Bamboo Boardwalk 竹林栈道, the forest-bath highlight of East Sheshan: elevated wooden walkways through dense bamboo, nearly full shade in summer, with animal sculptures that children love — the park's most photographed section.

Photo suggestion: The boardwalk tunnel reads best in soft morning light, before the weekend crowds arrive.

The path climbs the east flank to Lansun Pavilion 兰笋山亭 — the name recalls the park's historical fame for bamboo shoots — then continues to the South Peak 南高峰 viewpoint, where the viewing platform and fire-watch tower look out over the flat Songjiang plain. The ridge runs north-west to General Pavilion 将军亭, then to the Wooden-Fish Stone 木鱼石 on the North Peak high point: a rock face shaped like a swimming fish, with a legend that on overcast days you can hear the tap of a wooden fish. Descend past Foxiang Spring 佛香泉 (a clear spring; local accounts call the water mild in temperature, but it is untreated — do not drink it) to the old stone trail of Qilong Weir 骑龙堰, which local accounts date to the Ming dynasty — phrase it as 'said to date to the Ming' unless a heritage plaque confirms it. The trail exits East Sheshan by its West Gate.

Caution: The descent to the West Gate is on worn stone steps — take it slowly after rain.

Photo suggestion: The South Peak platform catches clear morning light for plain-level views; the Wooden-Fish Stone is best photographed in the soft shade of the North Peak.

Leave East Sheshan by its West Gate and walk north along Waiqingsong Highway 外青松公路 to the West Sheshan North Gate — community logs describe a 10-minute transfer of roughly 200–500 m (sources range 100–500 m; measure on site). Stay on the sidewalk the whole way, keep phones in pockets, and hold children's hands. There are no toilets or water points on this stretch. The North Gate opens into West Sheshan Park 西佘山园 — free, like its eastern neighbour.

Caution: Waiqingsong Highway is a real traffic section. Cross only at crossings and keep the group off the road edge.

Just inside the North Gate stands Xiudaozhe Pagoda 秀道者塔, also called Moon-Shadow Pagoda 月影塔: a seven-storey, octagonal brick-and-wood pagoda about 29 m tall, built in the Northern Song Taiping Xingguo era (976–984; some records give 978). The legend says a Daoist named Xiu helped build it, then set himself alight on completion — the only Shanghai pagoda named after a person. From the pagoda, a wooded stair and boardwalk climb winds to the summit and the Shanghai Astronomy Museum 上海天文博物馆: founded in 1900 by French Jesuit astronomers as Sheshan Observatory, its treasure is the 40 cm double refractor built by Gautier of Paris in 1901 — about three tonnes, then the largest in Asia, and used for the first moon photographs taken in China — under a 10 m dome. Entry is ¥12 (children under 1.3 m free); hours are commonly listed 08:30–16:30 with last entry ~16:00, closed Mondays except public holidays — verify current hours before you go.

Photo suggestion: The pagoda is framed by trees from the path below; the museum dome reads best from the summit plaza in morning light.

A short walk across the summit leads to the Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan 佘山圣母大殿（进教之佑圣母堂）, the landmark of West Sheshan. A chapel stood here from 1864; the present red-brick basilica was begun in 1925 and consecrated on 16 November 1935, and was designated a papal minor basilica in 1942 by Pope Pius XII — the first in the Far East, hence its name '远东第一圣殿'. Romanesque massing, Baroque and classical details, Chinese-style glazed tiles, and a 38 m bell tower crowned by a 1.8 t bronze statue of Our Lady of Help holding the Child Jesus. It is open to visitors when no service is in progress; there is no photography inside and visitors should dress respectfully. May is the traditional pilgrimage month (Feast of Our Lady of Help, 24 May). From the viewing platform by the church, the descent passes the free Shanghai Seismological Museum 上海地震科普馆 (Tuesday–Saturday 09:00–16:00, national holidays excepted; traces the century-old Sheshan seismological station) and ends at the East Gate — the Jin Jiao Zhi You Gate 进教之佑大门 at 环山路 3 号.

Caution: The summit has open railings and the descent steps are smooth stone — keep children close.

Photo suggestion: The basilica's west facade catches late-afternoon light; the view platform before the descent opens over the Songjiang plain.