Zhongshan Park

Over the past week, Beijing certainly has experienced its fair share of rain which in turn has provided the city's parks with a well-deserved drink. Combined with this replenishment and the warm springtime weather, it makes sense to visit one of the city's green gems; namely, Zhongshan Park. The park is conveniently located next to the Forbidden City with the nearest subway station being Tiananmen West on Line 1. If you intend to see the other more renowned sights on your travel to Beijing or have gone on Beijing tours in the area, it would also be an idea to have a glimpse of this treasure in the city center. On the surface, the park has changed quite a lot. Once, the park was ironically called 'Central Park' and then issued the name Zhongshan Park. While in terms of its purpose, the park formerly facilitated different temples going back as far as 1,000 years ago. In spite of its names and purpose changing over the ages, admiration and popularity for the park has still remained constant. Even though this is a park for the public, like many of the famous parks in China anyone visiting will be required to pay a small entrance fee. There are also additional costs for entering some gardens and buildings within the grounds. Historically, the site was where the emperor would be involved in ceremonies at the Temple of National Prosperity (which became the Temple of Longevity and National Prosperity). The only real reminders of these days are the ancient (and spectacular) cypress trees which parade the vicinity. The centrepiece of the park is, nonetheless, the Altar of Earth and Harvests (built in 1421) which, despite it appearing somewhat empty, held great importance to its Confucian practitioners. The altar's platform contained five different soils which in turn symbolized five elements (or 'Wuxing'). Throughout the country, there are many parks commemorating Zhongshan (or commonly known as Sun-Yat-Sen); China's first revolutionary leader. This park indeed places much significance on Zhongshan. In particular, when entering the park, you will be able to see an impressive statute of the man himself. To learn more about this man who was instrumental in changing modern China, Zhongshan Hall (just behind the Altar of Earth and Harvests), provides information on his life and works. Amongst other things, the park is an ideal place for anyone to potter on a sunny day. The plant life is abundant and this is emphasized with the springtime bloom. Nowadays, the park hosts a beautiful array of flowers, (like tulips which were given to the park by the Princess of Holland in 1977). Hence a visit to the park's greenhouse and its garden bursting with bamboo is an excellent choice for plant-lovers. Throughout the park there are also lots of pavilions, ponds (with unusual fish) and rockeries to admire while you sit and soak up the sun. If you desire a bit more activity, the park has paddle-boats which can be steered around the moat of the Forbidden City (plus, this is a good opportunity to see the Forbidden City at a different angles for those interested in photography!) In short, when booking your Beijing flights, this lesser-known Chinese attraction with all its appealing features should definitely not be overlooked.     from China Travel Blog http://blog.chinatraveldepot.com

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