Shanghai parks evolving into art and sports venues
Shanghai's Fuxing Park
An art space at Fuxing Park
Parks in Shanghai are not just places to relax or take a stroll. In fact, people can now appreciate art and enjoy the fun of sports activities at many such green spaces.
Shanghai is developing a number of parks with multiple functions and 45 parks across the city have already introduced sports, art, culture music and traditional Chinese opera elements to enrich the experience of visitors, the city's greenery authorities announced on Thursday.
Under the plan, more than 100 activities are rolled out at these parks throughout the year.
At Fuxing Park in Huangpu District, the Fuxing Park Art Season has run for two years and its third edition is ready to wow visitors through this year.
As part of the season, an art design competition has been launched, seeking creative works and installations to brighten people's life with innovation.
There will be an exhibition on world-renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, blending gardening art and a flower bazaar.
A pop-up music festival and an exhibition on biodiversity are also scheduled, according to Zang Jun, an official of the park management department of the Huangpu District Greenery Management Center.
"Park-plus is not just a slogan, but the result of brainstorming in pursuit of creative ideas," said Zang, adding that the park had allocated a plot of land to create a paradise for eSports enthusiasts.
"We hope parks are not just places for elderly citizens, but can also be alluring to the younger generation."
The bench, a winning entry at the 2021 Fuxing Park Art Season, at the park
A close view of the bench
Artworks of university students will be exhibited, and some works collected in previous art seasons have been turned into real installations and placed inside the park and nearby Sinan Mansions, according to Zang.
A bench, among the installations, now offers a comfortable resting place for park visitors.
Under an East-meets-West approach, the winning entry in 2021 combines the design concepts of coffee and Chinese tea.
"It is cozy and trendy," said a frequent visitor to the park surnamed Jiang. "I like sitting here, taking a short rest after my walk."
A sketching work tour exhibition is now on at Jing'an, Zhabei, Zuibaichi, Changfeng and Guhua parks, while Gongqing Forest Park, Guyi Garden and Binjiang Forest Park have signed cooperation agreements with eight universities in the city to incorporate various elements into their design, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.
Guyi Garden will be transformed into the city's first park dedicated to intangible cultural heritage.
In the future, it will host a variety of cultural activities such as Jiangnan culture forums, intangible cultural heritage experience classes, and guofeng (traditional Chinese fashion) markets to bring intangible cultural heritage into residents' daily lives and polish Shanghai's traditional cultural brands.
People enjoy leisure time at Jing'an Sculpture Park on Thursday.
A visitor tours an exhibition at Fuxing Park on Thursday.
