Early December is the best time to enjoy the golden beauty of downtown Shanghai.

The entire city is lavishly decorated with all kinds of colorful leaves - hanging on the tree or fallen on the ground - making it irresistible for families and friends to be outdoors despite the cold weather.

Even in a dazzling metropolis like Shanghai that is made up of skyscrapers and highways, there are still pockets of nature.

Shanghai Concert Hall, in Huangpu district, has recently been attracting the attention of visitors with its oil painting-like golden carpet made up of fallen ginkgo leaves in front of the building.

People have taken photos of the picturesque views and shared them on their micro blogs, which have gone viral.

For the past four years, the venue has left the fallen leaves untouched, instead of sweeping them away like in other places.

Shanghai Bay National Forest Park in Fengxian district, which covers more than 260 hectares, is another visually attractive place this season.

In addition to gold leaves, there are also red, deep red and green leaves all over the park. A walking path for visitors to enjoy the fairy tale-like scenery has been created.

Similar views can also be found in such parks as Shanghai Botanical Garden and Xujiahui Park.

In Shanghai the most popular tree is the chinar. Widely planted around the city since the late 19th century, they are branchy and leafy.

In addition to the parks, small lanes across the city also present vivid picture postcard views of arboreal beauty.

lixinzhu@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/09/2012 page15)