Zhongyao Riverside Park

Zhongyao Riverside Park

Constructed in 2005, Zhongyao Riverside Park spans 3.35 hectares, with 2,300 square meters of greenery, a maximum width of 62 meters, a minimum of 9 meters, and an average elevation of 24 meters. The park extends 1,725 meters from the Xiekuangji section of Yanjiang Road to the Kuaileling section of Huangshi Avenue. It centers on the Yangtze River landscape, connected by surrounding green spaces, and supported by a broader green system including urban parks, large plaza green areas, and encircling forest belts. The park features three major themed scenic areas: “Roaring Waves Remain,” “Leaning on the Rail to View the River,” and “Where Waters Meet.”

The mighty Yangtze River is as magnificent as a painting. Winding along its course, the beautiful Zhongyao Bay Riverside Park nestles in the river’s embrace like a maiden of the south. With a large population in the old urban district and an accelerating aging trend, the riverside park has increasingly become a spiritual haven for locals to relax and enjoy leisure activities.

Around 6:30 every morning, Grandpa Pi, who lives in the Thirteenth Row neighborhood, steps out of his home and strolls to the riverside park. At 73 years old, he has made it a daily routine to walk to the park for exercise ever since it was built.

“Lying like a bow, standing like a pine, sitting still as a bell, walking swift as the wind…” At dawn, to the background music of Tu Honggang’s “Chinese Kung Fu,” a group of residents dressed uniformly in white tai chi attire and wielding tai chi swords practice their movements in the park. Their actions are gentle yet firm, flowing like clouds and water. “Now we have a proper place to exercise. Before the riverside park was built, there was no suitable spot!” Ms. Cheng said cheerfully while practicing her swordplay.

As a former industrial and mining base, backward infrastructure and a lack of cultural venues were once bottlenecks that hindered the improvement of the city’s cultural quality. With enterprise restructuring and bankruptcies, many cultural resources disappeared or lay idle, and residents lacked places for cultural activities, leading to an increasingly prominent conflict between their spiritual and cultural needs and available resources. The completion of the riverside park has effectively alleviated this issue.

Now with space, greening, lighting, and improved infrastructure, the park features well-planned and orderly arranged green zones and activity areas. The eastern section includes over ten pieces of fitness equipment such as rings, horizontal bars, and parallel bars. The middle section offers badminton and tennis courts, a rubber track, public toilets, and more.

With space for activities, folk art groups have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

Every evening, Zhongyao Bay Riverside Park becomes lively. With erhu, violin, and other instruments playing together, members of the Riverside Art Troupe start their performances. Since its establishment in June 2009, the troupe has adhered to the principle of “entertaining the public and delighting the spirit,” performing three nights a week in the park. “With such a wonderful space, music-loving residents have a stage to showcase their talents,” said Captain Peng Fangbai. As more and more outstanding music enthusiasts join, the performance level of the Riverside Art Troupe continues to improve, and its influence is gradually expanding.

Dance teams performing folk dance, ballroom dance, and international standard dance are also a beautiful sight in the park. Many who don’t know how to dance come here to learn. “Teachers” teach for free, and “students” are eager to learn. “Neighborhood relationships have grown closer, and the community’s humanistic environment has become more harmonious,” said retired Ms. Li and Ms. Wang, who became “sisters” through the dance team.

“The great river flows eastward, washing away all the heroic figures of bygone ages.” In a corner of the morning activity area in the riverside park, Huang Chaocheng, former deputy party secretary of Qinglong Real Estate Market Development Company, bends over the marble tiles, writing vigorously with strokes as powerful as rushing torrents. Using water as ink and brushes as thick as pillars, he practices what is called “floor tile calligraphy.” Wu Changguo, a teacher at Longquan Primary School in Hekou Town who lives in Zhongyao, also practices this form. “Practicing open-air calligraphy here not only saves paper and ink but also allows me to exchange ideas and techniques with other calligraphy enthusiasts,” said Mr. Wu, who has practiced calligraphy for over 20 years.

Beyond the park’s riverbank railing lies the vast river. In the hot summer, it serves as a natural swimming pool. People come here not only to cool off but also bring their pet dogs to swim alongside them, living in harmony with nature. In the distance, a few anglers sit quietly, holding long fishing rods and staring at the water. “We fish just to find peace. If we catch something, great—if not, that’s fine too,” joked 72-year-old Mr. Zhou Yuehua.

Zhongyao Riverside Park is a great place for the elderly to relax, enjoy leisure, and spend their golden years, as well as a playground for children. Under the shade of plane trees, elderly men gather with their own tables and chairs to play cards or chess, often surrounded by onlookers. Elderly women take walks with their babies in strollers. In open areas, kite enthusiasts fly their kites high above the clouds, while smooth marble pathways often see children gliding on roller skates.