With the advent of the grape season, it was learned yesterday from Malu Town in Jiading District that Shanghai’s first park with grapes as its theme is to be built there, which will cover an area of 30 hectares and is expected to be open to tourists in next July.

Built at the site of a deserted orchard, the theme park will have a total investment of about RMB30 million yuan and consist of 6 major scenic spots, namely, the grape garden for appreciation, the lovers’ grape garden, the grape garden for gaining personal experience, the grape corridor, the grape garden for science popularization, and the specialty small fruit garden.

Malu Town, which was named by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1999 as the “Home of China’s Grapes”, presently boasts 4,000 mu of land for grape growing and its Grape Research Institute reserves 102 grape seeds. Every year from July to August when the grapes are ripe, tens and thousands of city dwellers, including even visitors from outside of Shanghai, will come here for a visit or for a taste of the grapes. From mid-July this year, Malu Town will host the Fifth Grape Science & Technology Cultural Festival.