Chen Shan Shanghai Botanical Garden

This time, I have chosen Chen Shan Shanghai Botanical Garden as a big immersive environment. One special thing about this botanical garden is that you are able to see different plants, climates, and landforms all over the world.

The first scene is called ‘Quarry Garden’. Shanghai is located in a plain terrain region, so it is very hard for citizens to view a waterfall. But here the garden uses a deserted quarry and uses its height to make an artificial waterfall. They decorate the whole scene with other plants which can be often seen around a true waterfall. Personally speaking, from a visual aspect, I think it’s a clever immersive design to let people have a sense of feeling that they are in other parts of the world.

There are other spots like North American Flora, Aquatic botanical garden, Tropical Exhibition Greenhouse, etc. They use the central control system to make the environment’s humidity, temperature, and other environmental settings suitable for the growth of these plants growing in particular regions. The immersive effect is very obvious when you are in these areas, the climate is completely different from Shanghai’s weather, and the visual and smell impact brought by these plants are strong enough to fool your mind to think that you are in other regions. For example, the desert plants need lots of sunshine, but low humidity. To meet their requirements, these gardens are designed to fit the plants’ needs. But it will also give you a feeling that it’s so hot in this place that it cannot be located in Shanghai, rather it should be somewhere else.

I really like going to Chen Shan Shanghai Botanical Garden. One of the main reasons is that I can see these plants which we used to see on TV in person and this brings me a totally new understanding of these plants. I remembered that when I was a kid, this place is always chosen as the destination of spring outings. And instead of telling parents that  I am heading to a botanical garden, I will always say that I am going to another part of the world! One thing I insist on when I was a kid was that if I brought fruits like dragon fruit with me, I won’t eat them until I reach the Tropical Exhibition Greenhouse. It’s also very interesting to see people’s feedback from different regions. As a Shanghai local, I might get most impressed by these tropical plants, while visitors from Brazil might think the orchids are the most impressive. Though having different feedbacks, there is one thing for sure, which is that these pavilions are immersive enough to fool our minds to get mistaken at where we are right now.