A bit of history and culture at Shanghai parks

Overview
Parks are a great place to get refreshed, recharged and inspired. They detoxify anyone who come for refuge among the green woods, often times, in the sunset glow with the lazy stray cat snoozing on the bench.

Here are some Shanghai parks with distinctive elements that offer city dwellers a quiet place to relax and also a moment of inner peace to meditate in the urban jungle.

Huoshan Park
Sitting on the junction of Huoshan and Zhoushan roads, the park is squeezed among the rows of old shabby bungalows built in the 1930s. But it holds an important position in Shanghai’s history — the park was once a major recreational place for Jewish refugees who sought sanctuary in Shanghai during World War II.

From 1938 to 1941, more than 20,000 European Jews took refuge at Huoshan and Zhoushan roads. In 1943, the Japanese invaders restricted the Jews in an area of approximately one square mile in Hongkou District, called Shanghai Ghetto.

The park, located in the center of the ghetto, became the only gathering place and recreational center for Jewish people. Today, it is shaded with thick green trees and purple wisterias that crawl along the shelves and walls. A black memorial at the center of the park reminds visitors of the bygone years.

Seen from the park, a three-story building sits nearby. It’s the former office of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee which sponsored a relief program of US$400,000 for 15,000 refugees in Shanghai from Central and Eastern Europe.

Info
Address: 118 Huoshan Rd, Hongkou District
How to get there: Take Metro Line 12 and get off at Tilanqiao. From Exit 1 walk about five minutes.

Zhabei Park
It’s the city’s only park with a theme of tea culture, highlighted by a giant bronze tea pot sculpture at its southern square. There is a stone statue of Lu Yu (AD 733-804) at the end of the cobblestone path. Lu is respected as the “Sage of Tea” for his contribution to Chinese tea culture, and known for his monumental book, “Classic of Tea,” the first definitive work on cultivating, making and drinking tea.

The sage, dressed in a long robe, sits among the flowers, one hand on the knee and the other holding a tea cup. In front of him, a teapot is boiling. Behind him, a wall displays the entire tea-making procedure — tea planting, picking, transport, processing, boiling and tasting.

As a matter of fact, Zhabei Park was originally called Song Garden, built to remember Song Jiaoren (1882-1913), a Chinese revolutionary and a founder of Kuomintang. He was assassinated in 1913 and buried in the garden.

Sometime in the 1950s, the place was renovated into a park with a tea house, reading rooms and public facilities. The original building remains intact.

Info
Address: 1555 Gonghexin Rd, Jing’an District
How to get there: Take Metro Line 1 to Yanchang Road and then walk about five minutes from Exit 2.

Xiangyang Park
Located close to the busy Huaihai Road, Xiangyang Park is shaded with French phoenix trees. Built in 1941 only for French children in Shanghai, it was not opened to the general public until January 30, 1942.

The park features symmetrical, balanced European-style architecture, including straight roads, square lawns and a fountain. But there are also Chinese elements, such as a delicately carved pavilion with a painted lantern on the roof.

The park is famous for its corner for go (Chinese chess) game, which draws go-playing amateurs and professionals. Some of the veteran go masters such as Rui Naiwei and Chang Hao were once regular at the park.

During the “cultural revolution” (1966-76), the corner was shut down but go players still practiced in the corridors, under trees or on the bench. The tradition carries on today, especially on Sundays.

Info
Address: 1008 Huaihai Rd M., Xuhui District
How to get there: Take Metro Line 12 to Shaanxi Road S. and walk about five minutes from Exit 10.

Jiuzi Park
Themed around the “nine games” that used to be played in Shanghai longtang (alleyways) of shikumen (stone-gate) houses in the1960s, Jiuzi Park by the Suzhou River brings back golden memories among the city’s elder generation.

The old games were revived and fixed by nine sculptures made of bronze, steel and granite.

People shuttle back to the innocent days of yore simply walking among the sculptures - boys rolling iron hoops, girls kicking shuttlecocks, skipping rubber bands or playing marbles.

Today it’s an autumn routine that citizens get together in the park to take part in the games and renew their childhood memories.

Info
Address: 1018 Chengdu Rd N., Huangpu District
How to get there: Take Metro Line 13 to Shanghai Natural History Museum and then walk about 10 minutes from the Exit 3.

Source: SHINE

Tip:  Hassle-free Shanghai Guided Tours recommended by Shanghai Private Tour during the COVID-19

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1. One Day Tour in Shanghai: Jewish Culture & History Tour   from US$60 P/P                      
      (Peace Hotel, Huoshan Park, Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, The Bund)

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   (The Peace Hotel, Ohel Rachel Synagogue, Jewish Old Market)   

3. Shanghai Vacation Packages: 3-Day Impressive Tour with Half Day Cycling Experience from US$40 P/P
   (Street Food Tasting, Dim Sum, Yunnan Road, Old-Fashioned Restaurants)