Fangta Garden is located in the eastern part of the "Shanghai's root - Songjiang" old city area, and was built in 1978. It covers an area of 182 mu (about 12 hectares) and is located in the bustling center of the ancient Huating during the Tang and Song dynasties. It is a garden themed around the appreciation of historical cultural relics. There are 8 national, municipal, and district-level cultural heritage buildings in the garden. The entire garden landscape is centered around the square pagoda of the Northern Song Dynasty, with the surrounding Song dynasty Wangxian Bridge, Ming dynasty brick-carved screen walls, Lanrui Hall, stone carving garden, Zhang Bi's old house, Qing dynasty Tianfei Palace, Chen Huacheng Ancestral Hall, Helou Xuan, Qichang Corridor, Qiusheng Pavilion, DuJin Boat, Tiedi Boat, and granite paved road. Fangta Garden is a collection of cultural relics and a gathering place for humanities. It has beautiful scenery and a pleasant environment, and is known as the "open-air museum of Shanghai".

Fangta Garden was overall planned and individually designed by Professor Feng Jizhong, a famous architect in China and honorary dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University. Based on his in-depth research on the historical origins of traditional Chinese culture and garden art, Professor Feng successfully designed and built Fangta Garden as an integration of Chinese and Western styles, blending ancient and modern elements. It not only inherits the characteristics of traditional Chinese gardens, but also incorporates the excellence of Western modern garden styles. The "Helou Xuan" in the garden was exhibited and prominently introduced at the World Exhibition of 50 Famous Architects held in Yugoslavia, and won the Bronze Award for Classic Architecture in Shanghai's 50th anniversary of the founding of New China in 1999. In 2006, Fangta Garden was awarded the title of "Shanghai Five-Star Park," and in 2007, it was designated as a National AAAA-level tourist attraction by the National Tourism Administration. In 2016, Fangta Garden was included in the list of "the first batch of 20th-century architectural heritage in China".