Carpets of tulips herald spring in one of city's iconic parks
Jing’an Landmarks
Jing’an is a potted history of Shanghai. Century-old villas, well-preserved traditional shikumen neighborhoods with high walls and stone gates, and renovated factories all have a story to tell.
Glitzy retail malls, charming boutiques and annual music and arts events give the district a distinctive ambiance and ever-growing opportunities.
In this series, we explore some of the landmarks that have come to characterize the district’s culture, history and human vibrancy.
Landmark ID
Name: Daning Park
Nickname: Daning Tulip Park
Built: 2002
Address: 288 Guangzhong Road W.
Highlights: It is one of the biggest urban parks in Shanghai, featuring the only white sand beach in a city park.
Open hours: 5am-10pm from May 1 to October 31; 6am-8pm from November 1 to April 31
General admission: free
A touch of the Netherlands, with a windmill amid millions of that nation’s most famous flower
The beautiful white sand beach is a popular destination for locals seeking a weekend getaway.
Spring has officially arrived, and that means tulips — millions of them — coming into full blossom in Daning Park. What more perfect place for a spring outing!
The park displays 45 different species of the flower, three times more than last year. The carpet of vibrant colors covers the area of about six football fields.
The array includes orange blossoms emitting a golden hue in sunlight, white blossoms appearing as delicate as porcelain, and hot pink blossoms that sway in the wind like dainty young ladies.
The park is designed around a Dutch theme to honor the country most famous for tulips. It floral designs depicting features from the Netherlands, such as cows, windmills and clogs.
Another feature is a 2,800-square-meter musical score comprising 140,000 tulips. Red blooms form the musical notes and purple blooms form the stanza lines, set against the backdrop of white blossoms.
The tulip festival will last through April 7. Admission is 20 yuan (US$3).
The park expects to host at least 600,000 visitors during the tulip festival. Two parking lots, at the west and south gates, provide only 138 parking spots. Visitors are advised to take public transit to the park or leave their cars in nearby shopping mall lots.
Daning Park, opened in May 2002, covers an area equivalent to more than 95 football pitches, one of the largest parks in downtown Shanghai.
It features beautiful landscaping and artistic rockery. Its iconic landmark is a 2,596-square-meter beach made with thousands tons of imported white sand.
As the only white sand beach in a park around Shanghai, it has become a popular destination for campers and for newlyweds having wedding photos taken.
