Sheshan National Forest Park and Observatory

The highest natural elevation in Shanghai at 99 m, topped by a French Jesuit astronomical observatory and a Gothic Catholic basilica, surrounded by a forested park popular for weekend walks.

Sheshan is the nearest thing Shanghai has to a hill, rising to 99 m above the flat alluvial plain of the Yangtze Delta in Songjiang district. The elevation, modest by any other standard, has made Sheshan a distinctive landmark in this relentlessly level landscape and given it a history of specialist use spanning centuries.

The French Jesuit mission in Shanghai established an astronomical observatory on Sheshan's western summit in 1872. The Sheshan Observatory was for several decades one of the most significant meteorological and astronomical recording stations in East Asia, contributing to the network of measurements that established regional weather patterns across the western Pacific. The observatory building — a domed circular structure in French institutional style — still stands and is open to visitors, displaying its original equipment including the main refracting telescope.

Immediately adjacent, the Basilica of Notre Dame de Sheshan (Our Lady of Sheshan) was constructed by the Jesuit mission between 1871 and 1873 and expanded in 1925 to its current Gothic form. The basilica is one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in China, with an annual pilgrimage (the Sheshan pilgrimage in May) drawing tens of thousands of Catholic faithful. The exterior combines Western Gothic stonework with some Chinese decorative elements.

The surrounding Sheshan National Forest Park covers both the east and west summits in mature woodland, providing 15 km of walking paths through forests of bamboo, oak, and camphor trees — a welcome contrast to Shanghai's urban density.