My One-Week Window of Gold: Chasing the Ginkgoes
I’ve always been fascinated by ginkgo leaves. I distinctly remember this one moment when I noticed them on my college campus freshman year and being completely obsessed with their shape and how they catch the light. After spending this last year in China, I’ve determined that the tattoo that I’ll (eventually) get will incorporate this element, if that tells you at all just how much I love these leaves.
Unfortunately, last year, I completely missed the ginkgo season. The thing is, it’s really short. The leaves go from green to bright yellow and then straight to the ground in no time at all. You have a week, maybe two if you are lucky, to go see them. So this year, seeing the ginkgo leaves in their full golden moment was high on my China bucket list.
In a perfect world, I would have visited one of the famous thousand year old ginkgo trees posted all over Xiaohongshu. However, the logistics of such a visit soon killed that dream. Most of these older trees are at least two hours away by car or five hours by public transit. A few of the locations were also closed for renovation.
I did find some good spots closer to me, but when the season finally came, I almost chickened out. Truthfully, it was really cold and I didn’t want to leave my apartment, but a friend mentioned that she may go during the weekend (which thankfully was warmer), and that was the push I needed.
One of the things I love most about China is the daka (打卡) culture where people visit photogenic locations and share them online. Often, they post their photos same day or next day, so it makes it easy to tell the conditions about different locations without having to take the trip all the way out there. Or at the very least, they post the date that they took the photos in the caption and you can make your own summary judgment about whether to go or not.
After way too much scrolling, I narrowed it down to two spots that had the vibe that I wanted. A full row of trees where you feel completely surrounded by gold, not just one or two trees next to a busy road.
We decided on Longhua Temple and World Expo Park as our two stops.
Longhua Temple
We took the metro to Longhua Temple, and as we rounded one corner, I had that weird feeling of deja vu. Everything suddenly looked way too familiar. I turned to my friend and asked if we’d come here to eat last year. At first, she didn’t think so, but the second we walked into the main prayer hall, we both knew we had absolutely been here before. The funny part is that we somehow completely missed the 40.4 meters (132.7 feet) tall temple last time. This destination is known for serving affordable lunches, and a friend had taken us there the year before. From what I can remember, the food was fine, and one of my friends even said she would go back, but it wasn’t my preference. The way the surrounding buildings are positioned actually blocks the massive temple from view, which explains how we totally overlooked it before.
The row of ginkgo trees we were hoping to see was actually outside the temple complex. Unfortunately, we were a few days too late and the trees were starting to look a little bare. Still pretty, just not the full golden moment I had envisioned.
World Expo Park
From there, we headed to our second stop, World Expo Park near Gate 1. We could have taken the metro, but my heels strongly suggested that a Didi was the better option. Of course, the road near the entrance was closed, which led to our driver accidentally circling the block before dropping us off. But once we arrived, it was immediately clear that this was the spot. It was absolutely stunning and also absolutely packed since it was a Saturday around noon. I didn’t get the peaceful full body photo I had imagined, but I got creative with my angles, took in the view, and honestly just enjoyed being there.
If you want to experience the ginkgo leaves for yourself next year, these are two places I would personally recommend. Just make sure to time it right!
World Expo Park (near Gate 1)
English: World Expo Park
Chinese: 世博公园
Specific Entry: 世博公园1号门
Address: 上海市浦东新区世博大道1368号
Nearest Metro:
Line 7
Station: Yaohua Road 耀华路
About a 10 to 15 minute walk to Gate 1
DiDi Drop Off:
世博公园1号门
Longhua Temple
English: Longhua Temple
Chinese: 龙华寺
Address: 上海市徐汇区龙华路2853号
Nearest Metro:
Line 11 or Line 12
Station: Longhua 龙华
About a 10 to 12 minute walk
DiDi Drop Off:
龙华寺正门