On February 17, 2021, the sixth day of the New Year, the last day of the Spring Festival holiday, the trip to Liantang Ancient Town in Qingpu District, Shanghai will end at about 2 p.m. Seeing that there was still some time, I decided to transfer to Sheshan in Songjiang District for a climb in the Year of the Ox.

Sheshan National Forest Park is divided into two parts: East Sheshan and West Sheshan. Of course, in a broad sense, it also includes Tianma Mountain, Xiaokunshan, Chenshan, etc. I have visited Sheshan several times, but I have only visited Xishe Mountain and Tianma Mountain, where cultural and natural landscapes are both superior, and I have never been to other places. This trip to Sheshan was limited in time, so I chose to only climb Xisheshan.

Take the bus along Shenzhuan Highway and get off at Longyuan Road. Follow Linyin New Road north, turn to Outer Qingsong Highway, and cross Dongsheshan.

Continue ahead and head to Xisheshan. I wanted to enter the park from the east gate of Xishe Mountain, but this gate could only go out and not enter, so I continued to go to the north gate to enter the park and climb mountains.

Xishe Mountain is 97.2 meters above sea level. Although its natural scenery is good, it is better than the monuments such as the Xiudaozhe Tower at the foot of the mountain and the Sheshan Observatory and Catholic Church on the top of the mountain.

Arriving in front of Xiudaozhe Tower, this tower is also known as Congdaoren Tower. It was built during the Taiping and Xingguo Period of the Northern Song Dynasty (976-984 AD). The tower is more than 20 meters high, has seven floors and eight sides, and has a straight and beautiful shape. It is a famous monument in Sheshan.

There are also stone carvings such as stone horses in front of the tower, attracting many tourists to stop and linger.

Continue to climb the mountain, take light steps, and soon arrive at the Sheshan Observatory on the top of the mountain.

The Sheshan Observatory was built in the 26th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1900 AD). It is known as the first observatory in China and the earliest observatory in the modern sense in my country.

The Sheshan Observatory was built by French Catholic Jesuit missionaries. It has a European architectural style and is equipped with a French-made 40-centimeter binoculars, the "First in the Far East". It is also the earliest astronomical telescope in my country. Over the past century, more than 7000 pieces of precious astronomical photos have accumulated a large amount of precious astronomical data for our country.

In front of the observatory building, ancient astronomical instruments such as armillary sphere and sundial are placed. Two sundials made of stainless steel and white marble can determine the time of day and the solar terms in the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter based on the shadow of the sun.

In recent years, another astronomical observatory has been built at the western head of Sheshan Catholic Church, with an optical telescope with a diameter of 164 centimeters installed inside. Taichung also has two advanced instruments and equipment such as laser telescopes, radio telescopes, and optical refraction telescopes with a diameter of 156 centimeters.

On the west side of Sheshan is the landmark Catholic Church of Sheshan.

Sheshan Catholic Church was built in the tenth year of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1871 AD). The main building, the Basilica of the Virgin Mary, was built in 1925. After ten years of renovation and expansion, it was completed in 1935, becoming the "No. 1 cathedral in the Far East" and the No. 1 cathedral in Southeast Asia. As a result, Sheshan has become an internationally famous Catholic pilgrimage site.

Before arriving at the Basilica of Notre Dame, I saw that the church was maintained internally and closed to the public. Fortunately, I entered the church a few years ago and sat in it and enjoyed the scenery inside and outside the temple.

Standing on the top of Xishe Mountain and looking into the distance, there are rows of villas at the foot of the mountain. There are more houses than trees, and the scenery is no longer good.

Go down the mountain to the middle hall of Sheshan Catholic Church halfway up the south side of Sheshan Mountain.

When it was built in the second year of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1863 AD), there were only five bungalows. It was a resting place for missionaries of Sheshan Catholic Church. It was rebuilt in the 20th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1894) and can accommodate more than 500 people.

When we reached the foothills of the mountain, it was already past 4:30 in the afternoon, and the east gate of Sheshan was closed. So he followed the instructions and left the garden through the nearby small side door and left Xishe Mountain.