Chongming Island Island

Address: Chongming Island, Shanghai, China

Hours: Open year-round; accessible from Shanghai by bridge and by ferry

Chongming Island lies at the mouth of the Yangtze River and is administered as part of Shanghai Municipality. It is one of China’s largest river-island landforms and combines agricultural land, urbanised areas and significant nature reserves.

The island has been the focus of major land-reclamation and infrastructure projects that expanded its area and linked it by road-bridge and tunnel connections to the rest of Shanghai. Large-scale parks and protected wetlands have been established, including forest parks and tidal reserves that are important for migratory birds.

Contemporary Chongming balances agricultural production, new urban districts and ecological conservation, with accessible public parks that receive many day visitors from metropolitan Shanghai. The island’s landscape is low-lying and dominated by reclaimed plains, wetlands and managed forest stands.

Chongming sits in the Yangtze estuary north of central Shanghai and is reached by road links from the city across river bridges and tunnels; it forms the northernmost major island in Shanghai’s municipal area.

• Size and administration: China’s third-largest island by area, located in the Yangtze River estuary and administered as part of Shanghai Municipality.
• Access and conservation: Connected to Shanghai by bridges and tunnels and developed for both urban expansion and large-scale ecological reserves protecting migratory birds.

What to See#

• Dongping National Forest Park: A large urban green space created through afforestation and park development featuring pine plantations, landscaped areas and recreational facilities established on the island.
• Dongtan National Nature Reserve: A protected tidal wetland reserve at the island’s eastern shore that provides staging and wintering habitat for migratory shorebirds and waterfowl along the Yangtze estuary.

Chongming Island is part of Shanghai municipality and is reached by road via the Shanghai bridges/tunnel connections across the Yangtze (the Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge system) and by scheduled long‑distance buses or ferries from the Shanghai area. Once on Chongming, towns such as Chenjia and Chongxi are served by local buses and taxis; plan routes from central Shanghai by car or intercity bus and follow signage for Chongming.

• Head to Chongming's nature areas (Dongtan and Dongping) early in the morning during spring or autumn migration peaks for the best birdwatching; the wetland hides are most active at dawn.
• Use the island's extensive cycling routes to cover more ground and reach quieter parts of the reserve-bicycling is a common way visitors explore Chongming and helps avoid busy parking areas on weekends.
• Visit on weekdays or outside Shanghai public holiday weekends when ferry and bridge traffic - and the island's day‑trip crowds - are much lower, especially around popular parks.