Xinpu Park

Xinpu Park

Xinpu Park is a national AA-level tourist attraction.

Xinpu Park is the earliest urban park built in Lianyungang City, with its planning starting in 1956. It is situated in the southern part of Lianyungang’s old urban district, located south of Longhai Pedestrian Street, west of Nanji Road, adjacent to Xiyanch River to the west and HaiLian Road to the south, covering an area of 110 mu (including 16.17 mu of water area and 93.82 mu of land area).

Initially planned as a comprehensive cultural and recreational park for the people of Xinpu, the park was constructed using garden materials and design techniques to create scenic areas, attractions, a children’s playground, animal viewing zones, a flower cultivation and appreciation area, and waterside pavilions. It opened to the public in 1963. Upon entering through the main eastern gate, visitors are greeted by two tall and stately cedar trees serving as a scenic barrier. The flower stands along the entrance path are lush with greenery and burst with colorful seasonal blooms. The park features a 30-mu artificial lake with shimmering waters, willows dancing along the shore, and a winding Seven-Arch Bridge lying gently on the lake's surface. A waterside pavilion in the style of Jinan sits low above the water; sitting here with tea, one can enjoy the surrounding scenery and the reflections rippling on the lake. To the northeast lies an earthen hill created from silt dredged from the ponds, covered in dense woods. Though not high, it is easy to climb, and topped with a square pavilion. The natural scenery atop offers a clear division of the park into two scenic areas by a stretch of clear water. Each area and attraction is interconnected by winding paths. In 1987, a floral exhibition hall was built, designed in the architectural style of the Qing Dynasty and laid out in the fashion of gardens from southern China—a comprehensive classical complex of landscape architecture. Covering 1 hectare and divided into eastern and western courtyards, it features translucent walls with visible tiles. Inside the hall are pavilions, towers, terraces, corridors, and waterside structures, along with pools, arched bridges, rockeries, elegant pines and bamboos, rare flowers and plants, and potted plants. The entire complex is exquisitely laid out with varied heights, simple and elegant aesthetics, a naturally subtle charm, and rich scenery. The zoo displays 24 species of animals, spanning 13 orders and 19 families, including Siberian tigers, African lions, primates, cranes, pheasants, various ornamental birds, and other precious creatures. The park also offers a wide range of entertainment facilities, such as electric bumper cars, go-karts, Ferris wheels, moon rockets, crazy mice, and overhead sightseeing vehicles—over 40 attractions that bring joy to visitors. In 2000, with the widening and opening of HaiLian Middle Road, the park demolished all storefronts along its southern wall and replaced them with stone foundations and stainless steel openwork fencing. A new southern gate was constructed, and a public swimming pool was added to the west side of the new gate, enhancing the park’s green transparency and adding to the city’s scenery. The park’s greenhouse cultivates various plants such as Clivia, camellias, azaleas, michelia, milletia, and bird-of-paradise flowers, as well as ornamental plants like podocarpus, large cedar, and cycads. The bonsai garden showcases tree and rock bonsai for visitors to appreciate the poetic artistry of bonsai and refine their tastes. The park currently has 86 species of greenery trees totaling over 3,000 trees and more than 370 varieties of flowers.

Construction

Originally a fully government-funded public institution, the park later transitioned into a partially subsidized institution as reforms took place, relying mostly on its own revenue generation. The park’s main sources of income now include fees from the main gate, the zoo, the children’s playground, rental of storefronts within the park, and leasing of internal spaces. The park currently employs 82 staff members and 37 retirees, receiving about 250,000 to 300,000 visitors annually, and is classified as a national second-class park.