Zhabei Park

Zhabei Park

Zhabei Park is bordered by Gonghexin Road to the west, Luochuan East Road to the south, Pingxingguan Road to the east, and Yanchang Road to the north. On March 20, 1913, Song Jiaoren was assassinated in Shanghai and died on March 22. His coffin was moved to the Hunan Guild Hall on March 23 and buried in Xiangyi Lane, Zhabei on June 26. — Over 100 acres of land were allocated here, including 43 acres for the cemetery. The tomb of Song is located in the center of the park, built with red bricks in a rectangular shape, about 2 meters high, surrounded by trees, commonly known as Song Park. In September 1929, the 132nd municipal meeting of the Shanghai Special City Government resolved to allocate funds for the repair of Song Garden and opened it as a public park. On June 5, 1946, it was renamed Jiaoren Park and reopened on November 18 after comprehensive renovation. On May 28, 1950, it was renamed Zhabei Park.

Over the decades, the park’s area has continued to expand. During the 1959 expansion, new features such as park gates, pavilions, corridors, tea houses, and an exhibition hall were added, with a total investment of 1.21 billion yuan. Between 1962 and 1964, a skating rink, boat dock, and reading room were successively added. From 1979 to 1981, with an investment of 960,000 yuan, the park was expanded again. The planning and greening design were done by Xie Jiafen of the Shanghai Municipal Gardening Bureau Design Office, and the construction was carried out by the Shanghai Municipal Gardening Engineering Company. The main gate was rebuilt, and new facilities such as a sales pavilion, stone bridge, waterside pavilion, twin pavilions, hexagonal pavilion, garden corridor, and revetment were constructed. The tomb of Song Jiaoren was also restored to its original appearance. Between 1985 and 1990, a long corridor, propaganda corridor, “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon,” and flower stands at the main entrance were added. The park is roughly rectangular from east to west and adopts a naturalistic layout. The western part of the park centers around Song’s tomb, behind which there is an earthen hill and a lotus pond. The central area is the main scenic zone, featuring a park lake covering over 10,000 square meters with varying water widths and a meandering shoreline. There are two large islands and one peninsula in the lake, dotted with undulating rockeries. The main structure, Chunhui Hall, is located at the eastern end of the lake, while other pavilions and waterside structures are mostly built on the islands or along the lakeshore. The eastern part of the park consists of wooded areas, lawns, lotus ponds, and a children’s playground.

Along the park’s perimeter walls, tall trees such as poplars, elm, willows, camphor trees, paulownias, hackberries, maples, magnolia, and zelkovas form a sparse woodland, interspersed with shrubs like Distylium, oleander, crabapple, and Bauhinia to reduce road noise and factory dust. Main pathways are shaded by fast-growing, broad-canopy trees like plane trees and firmiana. Water’s edge is planted with weeping willows, cherry blossoms, roses, and winter jasmine, while bridges are adorned with silk trees and azaleas to accentuate the seasonal scenery. Pavilions and corridors are accented with crabapples, pines, and firs. The park is particularly noted for its crabapple blossoms, featuring about 1,000 plants of five varieties: weeping crabapple, flowering quince crabapple, thornless crabapple, Begonia crabapple, and dwarf crabapple.