As Shanghai gears up for the World Expo 2010, the city is exercising its aesthetic voice through a proliferation of public art, including numerous art parks.

A combination of art appreciation and green space, these parks are sprouting up in the shadows of the city’s elevated highways and scaffolding. Jing’an Sculpture Park (Beijing Xi Lu and Datian Lu 北京西路近大田路), though still under construction, currently boasts two grassy areas bordered by wide benches and connected by a long walkway.

Three sculptures are on view. One, by American sculptor Peter Woytuk, depicts a herd of corpulent cows lolling in the grass. “The Everlasting Moment on the Plain” is meant to be interactive. On the afternoon we visited, couples were posing with the obliging cattle for photographs while children clambered and slid on their sloping backs.

“Public art shows a city’s culture. It elevates quality of life and also becomes part of the daily life of citizens,” says Zheng Jiashi, member of the Shanghai Urban Sculpture Committee and Vice Director of Shanghai Sculpture Space.

Another art park in the Putuo district is City Sculpture Park (Changshou Lu and Shaanxi Bei Lu 长寿路近陕西北路). Unremarkable at first glance, this less well-known park has tree-lined walkways and two dozen sculptures. The sculptures reflect a range of materials and styles, from abstract forms in bronze to sleeping figures in granite done by artists hailing from various countries, including the U.S. and Germany. With plenty of benches and quiet corners, the space is conducive to catching summer sun and art-gazing far from the crowds.

For the ultimate public art enthusiast, Shanghai Sculpture Park (1158 Linyin Xin Lu 林荫新路 1158号, Tel: 5779-8090) is the pièce de résistance. Located out in Sheshan, the park sprawls over 87 hectares around the man-made Moon Lake and is surrounded by hills. The ¥80 entrance fee (¥50 for children) includes access to the lake, the art museum, 30-plus public sculptures and various other attractions. The park also runs an artist residency program that invites international sculptors to create artworks specifically for them.

Officials hope the quality of public art will enrich the city and form a lasting legacy. “One of our primary aims is to teach the public about good art,” says Michelle Lai, General Manager of Shanghai Sculpture Park. “We want to leave something for future generations.”

For us Shanghailanders, new green spaces to escape the urban sprawl are legacy enough. Eva Ting