SHANGHAI is one of the biggest cities in the world, and yet sometimes it’s hard to find what you’re looking for. Its size is larger than the US state of Delaware — a sheer 6,340 square kilometers, to be precise — but if you want to go for a hike in a natural environment within the Metro’s reach, there’s few options.

Besides the few popular forest parks in Shanghai and small, man-made greenbelts in downtown, there is also the ecological corridor of New Jiangwan City (新江湾城) that’s waiting to be discovered. It’s naturally beautiful and located right at the end of Metro Line 10 in the city’s northeastern Yangpu District. New Jiangwan City’s name, which translates to estuary, stems from its location right by the Huangpu River.

The area used to be a military field built and used by the Japanese during World War II. The airfield was operational for several decades, but saw its last planes take off in 1994. The land was then handed over to the municipal government.

“For a long time the military airfield was closed to the outside world. As a result, the natural environment was well preserved as a whole, and at that time it was not easy to find such land in this city without too much human influence,” Yao Li said.

Yao has been watching and studying birds in Shanghai for more than a decade, and the ecological corridor in Jiangwan City is one of his favorite places to do so.

Sheltered from the surrounding development of Shanghai and protected from human disturbance, about 280 wild plant and about 40 water plant species flourished in the area, which became a natural haven for wildlife.

Once the military vacated the land, property developers eyed up the prime real state location and tried to move in. Real estate development started, and Fudan University extended its campus in the area.

“Back then, this place was like a gem in the city,” Yao said.

Now, there’s residential buildings and shopping complexes.

“Before there were these buildings, many birds stopped by here on their migration path south. Now, there are fewer,” said Yang Deqing, a lecturer at Fudan University’s school of computer science and enthusiastic bird watcher.

“Though the campus has fewer people than a park would have, it’s still an islet, and a few rows of tall buildings outside the campus have blocked the birds’ path,” he said.

There’s much that has changed for the worse, and the area is now a small fraction of what it used to be.

And yet New Jiangwan City didn’t develop as rapidly and as aggressively as many other parts of Shanghai. A corridor for the wildlife remains. It’s a narrow strip of habitat, but it’s crucial to maintaining biodiversity in the city.

“Relatively speaking, this place is more intact. A lot of green zones in Shanghai are not connected, which is a deadly problem. The birds may be able to fly, but small mammals simply can’t walk across the roads,” Yao explained.

Even though New Jiangwan City has seen enormous changes to its landscape, a lot of the area was preserved.

From West Nanjing Road, its only a 40-minute metro ride to Jiangwan City, where various species of birds, especially those breeding in forests, frogs, insects and occasionally small mammals like the Chinese hare and Siberian weasel can be found.

“There is a good variety of wildlife to discover, and people who live in the area also enjoy to take walks along the river,” Yao said.

There’s two easily accessible locations to enjoy nature in Jiangwan City. One is the Fudan University campus, situated by a small creek and dotted with tree, while the other is the corridor along Zhengyue Road (政悦路), right across Jiangwan Road.

The Fudan University’s Jiangwan campus is home to its law school and school of biological sciences. The campus plans to expand in the future, but for now, it’s a nice retreat from the hustle and bustle of downtown Shanghai.

A natural creek runs through the university with reed and bushes by the bank that provide shelter for animals and also serve as a food source.

“During holidays, people rush to large parks like Gucun Park and Gongqing Forest, but around us there are also natural landscapes worth a visit,” Yao noted as he walked nearby the creek.

The natural hiking trail by Zhengyue Road is also located along the creek and surrounded by trees.

Birds and frogs linger here and dragonflies hover over the water. In the early morning and as the night falls, small mammals like hedgehogs and weasels venture to the creek’s edge to drink water. Daurian redstarts, songbirds the size of a sparrow, fly above their heads and zoom down to catch insects or spiders. Some rest on a branch to nibble on some berries.

About five species of frogs, including eastern golden frog and Asian grass frog, live here, and in spring, the shallower parts are teeming with tadpoles.

LOOK out for these animals when visiting New Jiangwan City

SIBERIAN weasel 黄鼠狼

Scientific name: Mustela sibirica

A small mammal commonly seen in Shanghai, the Siberian weasel is about 28 to 40 centimeters in length. The female is smaller in size than the male.

They have a long and stretched out body, short legs, short ears and long tails. The fur is bright colored in orange tones and their face has a brown-colored mask.

Siberian weasels are active in the early mornings and during dusk and are very agile. They prey on small rodents.

Field frog (Asian grass frog or Indian cricket frog) 泽蛙

Scientific name: Fejervarya limnocharis

The field frog is widely distributed in Asia and is most commonly seen in ponds and fields.

Field frogs are tiny — only about five centimeters in length — with a pointed mouth with six to eight black stripes. Its back shines in a greyish olive, dark grey or brown color with dark-colored spots. Some have a light vertebral line. Male field frogs make loud sounds and are smaller than females.

The field frog spawns between May and July, and hibernates from fall to spring. The tadpoles grow up in about a month.

Daurian redstart 北红尾鸲

Scientific name: Phoenicurus auroreus

Daurian redstart is a small passerine bird found in Asia.

The male bird has an orange color chest, black face and chin, brownish wings with white patch and wears a grey crown on the forehead. The females are not so colorful with a brown and grey tone plumage.

The Daurian restart favors forests and gardens. It’s a migratory species that breeds in the north and spends the winter in the south.