Shanghai Daily News

If you are looking for a quick getaway in Shanghai to enjoy the sun and the surf, Jinshan Beach provides an ideal destination. While most daytrippers usually head for the man-made beach, Jinshan District offers much more than that.

Horseback riding, paintings by farmers, a lingzhi garden as well as an ostrich banquet are among the many activities to be found here. Here are just a few of the interesting places worth visiting in the city's southern-most district.

Jinshan Farmers' Painting Art Gallery

Founded in 1989, the gallery boasts a collection of more than 3,000 paintings created by local farmers. This Chinese folk art, which was discovered in a cultural campaign launched in the late 1970s in Jinshan, is a spare-time activity among locals. From their unique paintings, one can feel the pure and fresh smell of the soil of the countryside, and their love and passion for life.

Almost all the district's farmers are painters, ranging from 70-year-old graybeards to 10-year-old youngsters. The majority are women who are good at weaving and embroidery. Among them, some enjoy a world-renowned reputation. Last month, a painting by local peach farmer Lu Yongzhong was auctioned for 125,000 yuan (US$15,625), a record high for a farmers' painting.

Another farmer, Zhang Xinying, 73, was designated in 1996 as the Goodwill Ambassador of Chinese Folk Arts by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Her paintings have been collected by the Belgian Royal Art Institute, the Shanghai Art Museum as well as by former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

The gallery also offers painting courses with lectures by local farmers.

Address: 300 Jiankang Road, Zhujin Town

Tel: 5733-0851

Price: 10 yuan

Ganoderma Lucidum Garden

This two-hectare garden is a base for ganoderma lucidum. Known as lingzhi in Chinese, ganoderma lucidum is considered a very precious herb for medicine. It has been proved helpful to kill cancer cells, suppress tumors, enhance a body's immunocompetence and improve sleeping quality.

Lingzhi can be made into spore oil and powder. The shell-broken spore is the best form to be absorbed by the body.

Ganoderma lucidum is planted in March and harvested in August.

In this garden, one can lie back in comfort on the various sofas placed in a shed and inhale the powder emitted from the mature lingzhi by five large fans. It is said that the frequent inhaling of lingzhi powder is good for one's health.

Address: Langxia Town Modern Agricultural Park

Tel: 131-2258-5488

Price: 10 yuan

Shanghai Equestrian and Horse Training Base

This 10-hectare equestrian center was founded in 1996 and is considered as the biggest and most integrated in Shanghai. The center boasts 110 stables, 86 horses, an 1,690-square-meter indoor training ground, an 1,800-square-meter outdoor training ground and a 5,400-square-meter arena.

Among the horses, eight were brought from Australia while 60 were donated by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Another 18 came from China's southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The center is also a certificated horse training base for jumping and dressage. Since opening, it has hosted many competitions such as the Asia-Pacific International Horse Jumping Competition and the East Asia Horse Jumping and Dressage Competition.

The center also provides horse riding courses which range from 2,000 yuan for 25 classes to 6,000 yuan for 50 classes. It also offers horse training and stabling for private horse owners.

Address: 6852 Jinlang Road, Xinnong Town

Tel: 5734-6681

Kangning Ostrich Park

This park is the biggest ostrich breeding base in the city. Opened in 1997, it covers 5.3 hectares and features 72 mature African ostriches and more than 300 chicks.

The ostrich is the largest bird in the world, weighing more than 100 kilograms and measuring up to three meters in height at its extreme.

The giant bird is bred domestically for its skin, feathers, eggs as well as its meat. Ostrich meat, taken from the bird's breast, legs and feet is not only delicious but also nutritious. The protein in the meat is higher than average while its fat content is only 0.4 percent. It also contains 21 amino acids the human body requires and selenium, a mineral which helps to ward off cancer.

At the farm, ostrich egg decoration is another attraction. The eggs, perfect in form and carrying within it a new life, have been a universal symbol of a new beginning and a promise of hope. Decorating the eggs is thought to increase its magical abilities to protect the life of a family.

The decorated eggs are sold for about 300 yuan to 400 yuan. The eggshells are painted with beautiful colors, lending themselves to painting, pencil, decoupage, beading, wiring, etching, sculpting, jeweling and carving.

The ostrich park is set to expand later this month into an integrated tourist destination. The new attractions will include angling, hunting and a barbecue area.

Every week, the park's restaurant receives many wild animals that are air transported from Fujian Province, a mountainous area in southern China. Visitors can order such delicacies as crocodile lips and the meat of wild boar, pheasant and rabbit. There is also own-grown vegetables that were raised free of insecticides.

Address: 555 Ganlin Road, Luxiang Town

Tel: 5720-2679