COASTAL Jinshan District in Shanghai boasts an abundance of countryside scenery, authentic local delicacies and some of the city’s best ocean views. This coming May Day, it will also host an exciting holiday carnival.

Fengjing Old Town

On May 1, people born on May 1 can enjoy free admission to the Fengjing Old Town. Remember to bring along your ID card or passport.

Located in southwestern Shanghai, the water town was established more than 1,500 years ago. Local farmers are known for drinking huangjiu, or homemade yellow rice wine, wearing homespun clothing, painting pictures on clay ovens, and making paper-cuttings to decorate windows and lanterns during festivals.

During the holiday, the town will hold a Fengjing dialect contest on its central opera stage. Anyone who guesses right the dialect can win a small gift made by local farmer artists.

Zhonghong Village in Fengjing, known as the birthplace of Jinshan Farmers’ Painting, displays an array of paintings created by farmer artists from Shanghai as well as Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

Visitors to the area can also sample authentic Jinshan snacks such as egg cakes, flat-pan fried buns and shaomai, a kind of dumplings made with sticky rice and diced pork.

How to get there:

By car: Shanghai-Hangzhou Highway (A8 section). Get off at Fengjing Exit. Drive according to the signs for two minutes to the town’s parking lot.

By bus: Take Metro Line 1 and get off at Jinjiang Park Station. Take the Fengmei Line shuttle bus (Fengjing — Meilong) at the transit hub near the metro station. The bus takes about 45 minutes to reach the town. There are also frequent shuttle buses to Fengjing from Shanghai Stadium and Hongkou Football Stadium.

Langxia Ecological Park

From this May to July 3, certificated Shanghai volunteers, including their friends and families, can enjoy a 70-percent discount on admission to the Langxia Ecological Park.

Try your luck in the lucky draw. The first prize is a barbecue meal for six; the second prize winner will be treated to a free afternoon tea; while third prize is a set of local delicacies, such as tabing (pan-fried cake) and you dunzi (dumplings with shredded pork and carrots).

How to get there:

Address: 9133 Caolang Rd, Langxia Town

By bus: the north square of the Lianhua Road Metro Station – Bus Lianliang (Lianhua Road – Langxia Town) – Langxia Park Tourism Center

By Car: Humin Highway – Xinfengjin Highway (S4) – Jinshan New City Exit (then turn left) – Hangzhou Bay Road – Caolang Road – Langxia Park Tourism Center

Donglin Temple

Located in Zhujing Town center, Donglin Temple was Shanghai’s first Buddhist temple to receive a 4A national standard rating.

The 1,200-square-meter Guanyin Pavilion is said to be the biggest in Asia. Within it stands a golden statue of the thousand-hand guanyin, the bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is 27 meters high with a two-meter-high lotus base and arms reaching five meters, making her one of the world’s biggest indoor guanyin statues.

During the holiday, the temple will be illuminated at night by thousands of candles and lanterns on its rockeries, around its ponds, and along its cobbled paths and corridors. This spectacle is intended to make the temple appear as though it’s surrounded by a halo of serenity.

From Saturday to Monday, the temple’s second floor will be open to the public, where visitors can have a Buddhist tea-making and tasting experience.

How to get there:

Address: 150 Donglin Street, Zhujing Town

By bus: take the Bus Lianzhu or Lianjin at the Lianhua Road Metro Station

By car: G92 Highway (Huhang Highway) – G1501 (in the direction of Tingfeng Road) – S36 (in the direction of Jiaxing) – Zhujing Exit

Jinshanzui Fishing Village

Jinshanzui Village, located on Hangzhou Bay, is one of Shanghai’s last working fishing villages. It’s also one of its earliest.

From Saturday to Wednesday, those who have been named district-, city- or national-level model workers can receive free admission to the village’s tourism sites.

In a local fisherman’s house, preserved to look just as it did a century ago, visitors can learn how to weave fishing nets. The old house features vintage fittings and furniture such as a clay oven, a beautifully-carved king-sized bed and old-fashioned hardwood baxian zhuo, or a square table for eight people.

Another highlight is the village’s fresh seafood. Gourmands can gorge on fresh crabs, clams, white shrimps, little yellow croakers.

How to get there:

By car: Take the G50 or S4 highway. Take G15 (toward Ningbo). Get off at Tingwei Road and then drive south to Huhang Road. The beach is at the end of the road.

By bus: Take Metro Line 1 to Jinjiang Park; walk a minute, then take the Shimei Bus Line (from the Meilong Bus Station to the Shihua Bus Station); then take Xiwei Bus Line to Jinshanzui; walk three minutes to the beach.

By train: With the Jinshan Railway now open, visitors have one more option for getting to Jinshan. Get on the train at the Shanghai South Railway Station and get off at Jinshanwei Station, where you can rent a bike and cycle for about five minutes to the beach.