Abstract: Construction of near to nature forests is an important way to restore vegetation in cities. This method has been used in several Chinese cities, with new afforestation models beingemerged recently. To assess restoration dynamics of near to nature forests using different afforestation models, we carried out longterm monitoring on two near to nature forests in Shanghai, which were constructed by the Miyawaki model and a new deciduousevergreen bi cohortandsynusia model respectively. The restoration dynamics were compared between the two models in terms of species composition, vertical structure, life form component and population size of target species. The results showed that species composition became more similar with increasing recover years between the two forests. Over a decade, both models created a kind of mixed forests with deciduous trees dominating the canopy and evergreen trees dominating the understory. The new bi-cohort andsynusia model was better for the recovery of evergreen tree species, especially for the constructive species, Machilus thunbergiiand Cyclobalanopsis myrsinifolia. This study provides empirical evidence that near to nature restoration method could shorten restoration time from bare ground to later succession stage in subtropical region. We recommend restoring urban vegetation by the new bi-cohort and synusia model to construct near to nature forests.