Snow forces significant park closures across Shanghai

Ti Gong

Some parks and scenic spots in Shanghai are closed today due to safety concerns after last night's snow blanketing, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.

On the list are:

• Sheshan National Forest Park 
  
• Grand View Garden (also known as Daguanyuan)
  
• Fangta Park
  
• Zuibaichi Park
  
• Guyi Garden
  
• Huilongtan Garden
  
• Qiuxiapu Garden
  
• Huangxing Park
  
• Jing'an Sculpture Park
  
• Zhabei Park
• Daning Park
  
• Sanquan Park
• Paotaiwan Park
  
• Zhongshan Park
  
• Tianshan Park
  
• Dahua Park
  
• Shuixia Park
  
• Tianyuan Park 
  
• Huashan Children's Park
  

In addition, all parks in Putuo and Hongkou districts are closed for snow clearing, the bureau said.

Tourist attractions including Sheshan Observatory, all scenic spots inside Zhujiajiao Ancient Town and Fuquanshan Ancient Culture Ruins are also closed. Cruise services in Zhujiajiao are suspended to ensure safety.

Parks and scenic spots remaining open have launched emergency plans. The Chenshan Botanical Garden have stepped up patrols and laid down grass curtains on wet roads, while the Oriental Pearl TV Tower are using blankets in slippery areas and have stepped up cleaning on its 259-meter transparent sightseeing corridor which is semi outdoors.

In the past two days, road administration workers have applied about 1,200 tons of snow-melting agent and 3,100 tons of industrial salt to the roads to deal with the snow, according to the road administration bureau.

Last night 400 police officers and 500 construction workers joined road administration workers to clear the snow from four major bridges across the Huangpu River, finishing work at 5:10am.

Due to ice which could create slippery conditions, the on-ramp of Yangpu Bridge at Pudong Avenue was closed during the morning rush hour, Shanghai traffic police said.

Police said no road accidents involving casualties have been reported in the past two days.

Meanwhile, driving tests out in the open on Friday were cancelled, with about 4,000 driving license applicants who were to take part in the tests being informed on Thursday evening, police said.

The applicants can either take the tests on a new given date or reserve for more convenient time via the internet.

Ti Gong