I've been to Shanghai tons of times!! But I've not really explored much of Shanghai sights (except the tourist ones like Bund, Old Town, Zhou Water Village etc).
So this time, I decided to hop over to Chong Ming Island (3rd biggest island off Shanghai) for 1 day of exploring.
Initial plan was to take the MRT to the pier and hop onto the ferry across to Chong Ming. But then I found out that journey would take over 2 hours and apparently the ferry was not really functioning frequently during this time! Read from the papers a few days after my trip that the ferry was to be revived to attract more people who are taking the tunnel across. So probably lucky I didnt choose to take the ferry!
Anyway, went over to Shanghai Tourist Bus center at Shanghai Stadium and bought my day pass to one of the attractions on Chong Ming - Dong Tan Wetland Park. You can choose from 4 different attractions on Chong Ming, and the ticket price includes entrance fee. The Dong Tan Wetland ticket costs RMB120 (include return bus and entrance fee of 70RMB). Apparently, it's cheaper on weekdays.
Timing is fixed, gather at 715am and return from there at 4pm. Normally, you can buy the ticket on the day of departure, but I went 1 day earlier to ask about the ticket and bought it 1 day ahead. If you want to secure a ticket in the event of sell out, go 1 day earlier. Else, turn up early on the actual day and buy it.
The trip took 2 hours to reach the wetland. So basically we were like the 1st bus to arrive!!! It opens at 9am anyway. It was good as nobody was there yet, good for photography!
Dong Tan Wetland Park