Shanghai is moving closer to its goal of having 1,000 parks as 141 were added around the city this year. It brought the total to 973, greenery authorities revealed on Friday.

In recent years, Shanghai has pushed ahead with its "Park City" initiative, aiming to carpet the cityscape with green spaces, which creat soothing colors amidst the concrete jungle of urban areas.

The new parks include 76 "pocket" parks that are small in size but delicate in quality.

By utilizing colorful foliage and flowering shrubs, pocket parks present a beautiful "colorful" effect, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.

This year, the southern part of the Shanghai World Expo Culture Park and the first phase of Meilan Lake Central Park opened to the public.

The city has also added 1,041 hectares of green space and 230 kilometers of greenway this year, bringing the total length of greenways to 1,999 kilometers.

Greenways are defined as paths for leisure and exercise amidst trees, flowers, water and other natural resources. They include paths in gardens and forests, as well as along rivers and roads.

The extension of Yangpu and Minhang sections of Huangpu riverfront greenway, Qixin Road greenway, and Hutai Road greenway are among the 110 newly added greenways.

The bureau also says 87 percent of percents of parks in the city are now open 24 hours a day.