Tianshan Park

Tianshan Park

Tianshan Park is located at No. 1731 Yan’an West Road. It covers an area of 73,300 square meters, including 36,600 square meters of green space, 16,700 square meters of water surface, and 953 square meters of nursery beds.

At the entrance, a potted-style flower bed in the small square at the gate serves as the centerpiece, flanked by clusters of trees and flower bushes that extend inward with varying densities and heights of greenery; to the north is a 15-meter-high tree screen. The potted-style flower bed spans 220 square meters and features a rockery and fish pond, planted with 13 varieties of rare plants including Yulan magnolia, crape myrtle, wisteria, osmanthus, and juniper. Among them is a 4-meter-tall five-needled pine, 120 years old, with upright and graceful foliage. Beyond the tree screen lies a large lawn covering 5,800 square meters, with a lotus pond of over 400 square meters to its north. The pond has a winding shoreline, embraced by stone paths, and is adorned with the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion, stepping stones, stone steps, railings, and water sculptures.

Hulu Lake boasts a vast water surface, featuring a stone bridge, a National Defense Education Hall, a Martyrs’ Monument, Scenic Island, the Azure Wave Corridor, the Lake View Pavilion, stone-paved shores, and more. The Azure Wave Corridor is built along the water’s edge, with a pavilion nearby where visitors can enjoy lake views from the railing. Across the water is the Lake View Pavilion, with floral-patterned walls and glazed tiles that complement the lakeside scenery. To the west of the lake is a boat dock where visitors can go boating. To the east of the large stone bridge along the lake are the Rongshan Scenic Area and the Luan Mountain Scenic Area, both densely planted with flowering shrubs, trees, and ground cover. Luan Mountain is the highest point in the park, featuring a flower pavilion originally named Shanse Pavilion. In March 1989, to commemorate the first anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Shanghai’s Changning District and Sakai City in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, 100 cherry blossom trees were planted under the pavilion, which was then renamed Sakura Pavilion. Descending along the stone path to the island extending into the lake is Fengguang Island, covered with metasequoia and hibiscus, backed by hills and facing the water, offering a refreshing view.

The park's trees and plants are planned and designed based on their functions, ecological communities, as well as the terrain and overall landscape concept. In the 1960s, the main tree species included willows, elm, camphor, dragon juniper, and wingnut. Later, ligustrum, palms, and oleanders were added. By 1975, the elm, camphor, and wingnut had grown over the years to become dominant species, distributed around the park’s periphery. A dense 20-meter-wide forest belt was planted along the inside of the eastern wall bordering the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway, effectively reducing the noise from passing trains. The arrangement of flowers and plants in the park is unique, with tall trees highlighting the mountainous terrain and low shrubs setting off the lake areas. The stone arch bridge, situated on undulating terrain, utilizes the slope to create a vertical curtain-like plant formation. The park is home to 128 tree species and 9,265 trees, 80.29% of which are evergreen.

In April 1987, the Changning District Committee and District Government decided to establish the Changning District National Defense Education Ground (referred to as the National Defense Park) within the northern sightseeing area of the park. Utilizing the former youth activity zone, two national defense education halls were built. The east hall opened on August 1st, with an inscription by former Defense Minister Zhang Aiping, while the west hall was completed in September 1989, with an inscription by a then-defense leader. The National Defense Education Halls display various light weapons, military situation maps, models, and other exhibits to teach national defense science. They also showcase a registry and stories of revolutionary martyrs from the district. In the southern part of the hall area, there is a Soviet-made tank, eight anti-aircraft guns, and one howitzer on display; in the northeast corner, there are two high-speed fighter jets, one ballistic missile, one howitzer, and six twin-barreled anti-aircraft machine guns. On the lake in the eastern part of the hall area, a torpedo boat is moored. In 1991, the "Support-the-Army and Love-the-People Pavilion" (also known as the “Shuangyong Pavilion”) was added to the National Defense Park, with an inscription by a then-defense leader. Since its establishment, the National Defense Park has conducted public-oriented national defense education. From 1987 to 1992, it received over one million visitors, becoming an important base for patriotic and revolutionary tradition education.