WITH its serene wetlands, calm lakes and quiet villages, Shanghai's Chongming Island has much to impress nature lovers and outdoor sports enthusiasts.

Efforts to develop the island into a tourism hot spot continue apace, with loads of new facilities ready to open in the coming months. And, thanks to an expanding car-rental scheme, the island's abundant attractions will soon be even easier to reach.

Let's take a look at what Chongming has to offer, as well as plans for the near future.

Sporting life

Running along the island's winding country roads while inhaling its refreshing air is a great way to exercise. Over the years, Chongming has become a magnet not only for runners and joggers, but also with cyclists, footballers, swimmers, kayakers and many other amateur and professional athletes.

The island has a long tradition of hosting world-class marathons and elite cycling events. Without question, the island's premier sporting event is the Tour of Chongming Island, a key cycling stage-race in the UCI Women's Road World Cup.

Looking ahead, local authorities are at work on a host of new sporting amenities, including new indoor and outdoor fields at Changxing Island Park.

Meanwhile, areas near the Dongping Forest Park and the Genbao Football Base will be developed into professional football facilities with over 10 pitches. Work is also underway to turn Mingzhu Lake into a haven for watersports like kayaking, dragon-boat racing and paddling.

Also under construction is the Chongming Sports Center in Chengqiao. The sports center is designed to accommodate 10,000 spectators and is meant to give Chongming residents the chance to enjoy professional basketball and football matches without leaving the island.

Sports centers are also planned for Baozhen Town, Chenjia Town, Miao Town and Changxing Town. These centers will include swimming pools and facilities for ping-pong, badminton, indoor rock climbing and squash. Outdoor tennis fields, jogging lanes and basketball courses will also be available.

Authorities on the eco-island are also planning to role out some 413 kilometers of running and cycling lanes. These lanes will be divided into circuits and routes taking riders past attractions like Chongming New City area, Xisha Wetland, Dongping Forest Park and Chenjia Town. The two-meter-wide lanes will be painted red and circuit routes will feature rest stations every four to eight kilometers. Over 200 kilometers of such lanes are expected to open soon.

Electric-car rental

Driving to and from Chongming is about to get a whole lot more convenient. The island is the latest area of Shanghai to fall under the EVCARD electric-vehicle rental scheme.

This program will see 168 service centers — where vehicles can be picked-up, dropped off and recharged — opened across the island. Of these, 67 are scheduled to be up and running before the start of Spring Festival in early February, according to local officials. The scheme will be managed by the Chongming government in cooperation with Shanghai International Automobile City Group.

EV renters must first register via the EVCARD website (www.evcardchina.com) or the EVCARD mobile app. After paying a 1,000 yuan (US$155) deposit, they will be sent a membership card that allows them to access vehicles from service centers.

Reservations can be made through the app, which also provides information about vehicle availability and rental costs.

The centers will offer Roewe E50 hatchbacks. Rental fees start at 15 yuan for the first 30 minutes, plus 0.50 yuan for each additional minute, with a daily maximum of 180 yuan. Recharging is free and requires about six hours to fully recharge the E50’s battery.

The cars have a maximum range of 120 kilometers, which means they can easily make the 70-odd kilometer one-way trip to downtown Shanghai. On the island, service stations will be built at tourist attractions, hotels, hospitals, parks and communities.

"It is really exciting and fashionable to drive electric-cars," said one local women, surnamed Chen. "I registered very early and was very eager to try."

Users can drop their vehicle off at any EVCARD service center across the county.

Bird watching

Now is the perfect time of year to view the many species of migratory birds that make Chongming Island their winter home. The best place to view the island's winged temporary residents is Dongtan Wetlands.

As its name implies, birds are most abundant at the Dongtan Bird Nature Reserve, located on the eastern edge of the island. The reserve is home to over 100 species of birds, including the hooded crane, mandarin duck, little curlew, northern shoveler, mallard, gadwall and the endangering black-faced spoonbill. Altogether, Dongtan hosts approximately one million migratory birds each year.

"When observing birds from the high-powered telescope, I felt everything is so free and calm," said Xia Dong, a wildlife lover at the Dongtan reserve. "The air is so fresh in Dongtan Wetland and even a little bit sweet. Getting rid of heavy work, I like unwinding here."

For bird photographers, getting great shots means having the right equipment. You’ll likely need a lens with a pretty substantial focal length — anything less than 300mm may be too wide.

If you just want to look, binoculars between 200-500mm are also recommended. But if you don't have that kind of gear laying around, observing with the naked eye is also a perfectly worthwhile experience.

"Bird photographers need great patience in following a single bird," a photographer surnamed Zou said. "The camera needs to follow them for a long time, waiting for the bird to do something interesting; such as diving into the water, hunting or playing with other birds. Waiting two hours for a single picture is rather normal."

As you move in for the best view, remember that wild birds are easily startled. Camera flashes and electronic chirps could cause a resting flock to take flight.

Also, never use your own food to lure birds. And do not drop litter!

The 4th Dongtan Wetland Bird Festival is now in full swing at Dongtan Wetland Park and will last until the end of February. The event will feature a photo contest and a bird drawing test for youngsters.

Ecological lanes

Towns across Chongming are equipped with lanes for walking, jogging and cycling. Covering 4.9 square kilometers in total, each town's "ecological lanes" have their own style and theme.

In Xincun Village, the lanes are lined with sweet osmanthus. In Miaozhen Town, strollers can view trident maple leaves change color with the season. When the spring comes, you can also see cherry blossoms in Zhongxing Town.

By government order, each lane is lined by between 20 and 30 trees to prevent view obstructions.