When people started to see nature in the city as a more complex idea than Frederick Law Olmsted’s ‘picturesque’ landscape, urban parks has become less representational and more functional, creating socio-economic, cultural and ecological values. By studying the two public-private partnerships cases in Wuhan and Shanghai, we hope to gain further insights into certain trends in the construction and management of urban parks in China.

This article mainly focuses on clarifying the concept and cognition of national parks, standardizing the ‘multiple’ management system, clarifying the relationship with various laws such as for urban and rural planning, and optimizing residents ’consumption habits and attitudes towards nature. Departing from the narrow perspective of tourism development and nature protection, this article argues for the “broad perspective” to realise that national park is closely related to our daily urban life and human settlements.