As autumn arrives, the weather is no longer stifling, so it's time to take your lovely dogs out for a close encounter with nature. Here's a treasure map of pet-friendly destinations in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Shanghai

Xuhui Riverside is a great place for animal lovers—boasting a number of pet-friendly shops. They've allocated an outdoors area especially for pets and their owners to play and rest—and some shops have even thoughtfully provided pet-specific animal creams.

Elsewhere, Guangfulin Country Park features woods, lawns, small rivers, farmland and vegetable gardens. Cats and dogs can run freely on the large lawn, while their owners can picnic or set up tents in the woods or on the grass.

Doggo Park is in the northern area of the Shanghai Expo Culture Park, covering about 10,000 square meters. It's a perfect venue to walk your dog, socialize and do some leisure activities. Here, you can enjoy the views of both banks of the Huangpu River and take photos with the dog sculptures there.

Jiangsu province

The pet zone in Huqiu Wetland Park in Suzhou city offers various pet playing facilities and professional pet training programs. It also features an outdoor pet swimming pool where dogs can splash and play.

The Nanshan Bamboo Forest in Changzhou city has dense bamboo-filled mountains and valleys, stretching endlessly. It offers great pet-friendly attractions, such as the bamboo rafts and a bamboo sea cableway.

Wuxi's Longchi Mountain Bicycle Park, located in the Yangxian resort, is described as "a natural oxygen bar", making it an ideal destination for hiking with your dogs. The park's terrain is mainly mountainous but consists mostly of gentle slopes, ideal for exercising with your furry friends.

Zhejiang province

The Mountain Games Scenic Area in Hangzhou city supports various pet social activities. Besides a pet interaction playground, the area also offers camping tents and a wild nature experience. Additionally, there are barbecue areas, Chinese restaurants, coffee houses and burger outlets.

Jiaxing's Jiashan Pet-Friendly Park is located in Shanxi Park in Jiashan county. It's divided into a dog activity area and an owner rest area. The park employs smart management methods such as QR code entry and remote monitoring.

Sunshine, grass, pets and picnics can all be enjoyed at Zhoushan's Ancient Zen Forest. On this small hillside, visitors can easily set up a tent or lay out a picnic blanket and spend the whole day relaxing.

Anhui province

With its crystal-clear waters surrounded by mountains, Guniujiang scenic area in Shitai county of Chizhou city is hailed as the mini version of Jiuzhai Valley which is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in Southwest China. Here, you can take photos with your "fur babies" on bamboo water rafts, enjoy the natural beauty, or take a bamboo raft ride through the waterways.

The first pet park in Wuhu city, Nanling Pet Park has a total area of about 750 square meters. It includes a fun smart training area and a wooden climbing area, with vertical and box-style pet waste collectors on both sides.

Hefei's Tianming Huahai Scenic Area has a rainbow-colored flower sea that integrates with the other fields, green hills and farmhouses—creating a bucolic picture of rural life.

Source: "shanghaifabu" WeChat account