Jiawang People's Park

Jiawang People's Park

People's Park was first built in 1989 and is located in the northern part of the urban area. It is the largest comprehensive ecological park with natural features in the main urban district. The park is divided into several functional areas including the main square, youth activity zones, children’s playground, and senior citizen activity zones, featuring attractions such as the Martyrs’ Memorial Pavilion of the Canal Detachment. Due to years of disrepair, the district party committee and district government carried out an open-space upgrading project for the park, in coordination with the renovation of the northern section of Yulong Bay. They also integrated the water system of Yulong Bay into People's Park, dredged and restored the surrounding waterways, and renovated the entire park to replace the outdated elements of what had become an off-putting “former wasteland park.”

The park covers an area of about 13 hectares, with green space totaling 250,000 square meters and hardened paving over 10,000 square meters. Five new landscape bridges and six corridors/pavilions were constructed, adding 80 mu of new greenery. The park was expanded 50 mu eastward from its original site to connect the eastern entrance with National Highway 206. A new east gate, north gate, and south gate were built, along with park pathways, public toilets, security kiosks, landscape lighting, and three small leisure squares. These improvements were designed to create a high-quality leisure environment for residents. Construction began on March 10, 2013, and the park opened to the public on October 1 of the same year, with a total investment of 55 million yuan.

The overall renovation of the park focused on environmental beautification. Leveraging existing and newly built pavilions, garden ornaments, water features, green belts, and iconic public buildings as key elements, points, lines, and surfaces are interconnected. Nearly 600 tall trees suitable for Jiawang’s climate—introduced from regions such as southern China and Anhui—were planted, including purple-leaved plum, privet, magnolia, and camphor. These large-scale nursery plantings significantly enhanced the park’s landscape. Hard landscaping work mainly involved renovating existing paths, laying colored asphalt roads, adding new pathways and paving for the children’s playground, senior fitness plaza, and community activity spaces, along with constructing new corridors and public service facilities. Water feature development integrated water platforms, wooden boardwalks, stacked stones, and landscape bridges across various sight spots, expanding the park’s water surface and establishing interconnected water systems. A variety of water landscapes were used to create a naturally flowing "water park," enhancing the poetic and lively ambience of the overall scenery and meeting people's desire to engage with water. The entire park was also outfitted with high-standard lighting, resulting in spectacular night views.

The open-space renovation and upgrade of People's Park improved the ecological environment of the old urban area, refreshed the image of the northern urban district, and further met residents' needs for leisure and entertainment. It also played a significant role in driving the development of commerce and real estate around the northern part of the city and boosting the sound and rapid economic growth of the district. Today, the park presents a refreshing scene at every turn—crisscrossed by clear waters, with tidy pathways, lush trees, and swaying floral shadows. Strolling through it is a truly captivating experience that leaves visitors reluctant to leave.