Yuzhong District Coral Park

Yuzhong District Coral Park

Chongqing Coral Park is located at No. 380 Binjiang South Road along the Yangtze River, adjacent to Chongqing Railway Station, backed by the mountain ridge of Yuzhong District, and facing the Yangtze River. The overall planned area is nearly 600,000 square meters, with the first phase covering an area of 93,800 square meters (including 66,900 square meters of green space, accounting for over 70% of the total area). With an investment of over 60 million yuan, its planning began in June 1994, and it was preliminarily completed and opened to the public on December 21, 1997. After opening, Coral Park consists of several scenic areas, including the "New Century Plaza," "Century Pillar of Light," "Bridge Pavilion Elegance," "Flower Stream Fragrance," "Pebble Sentiment," "Cultural Plaza," "Hollow Water Curtain," "Soaring Dragon," "Literary Sunflower Imagery & Spiritual Journey," "Colorful Flower House," "Flower Maze," and "Shaded Leisure." The entire park features a landscaping design based on lawns as the foundation, trees as the framework, and flowering shrubs as highlights. A major feature of Coral Park is its frequent hosting of diverse and colorful events. Since its opening, it has held large-scale flower exhibitions such as "Stepping into Spring," the "Happy Camp" event, and the "First Chrysanthemum Exhibition of Yuzhong District." It also successfully hosted the opening ceremony of Chongqing’s “One Conference, One Festival,” four editions of the “Chongqing International Beer & Beverage Festival,” the “Silver Star Night” event, large-scale Christmas galas, and more. Coral Park is a modern urban park funded by the government. Both its construction and design are distinctive and have been widely recognized by all sectors of society.

During its construction, the park incorporated many data points related to Chongqing’s status as a municipality directly under the central government. It also cleverly integrated maps and districts of the new Chongqing. The park features over 10 scenic spots, organically connected by large areas of greenery, while the riverside viewing platform offers distant views of the verdant peaks of Nanshan Mountain. As a modern urban park, Coral Park is becoming a shining pearl along the Yangtze River with its unique charm.

During the planning and design process, the park designers adopted many bold and innovative approaches. Along the park’s central axis from west to east, they planned and designed scenic spots and structures such as the Century Plaza, Bridge Pavilion, Grandstands, Open-Air Stage, Soaring Dragon, and Colorful Flower House, connecting them seamlessly. The Century Pillar of Light in the plaza serves as the dragon’s head, while the Colorful Flower House acts as the tail, creating a three-dimensional space with varying heights and undulating rhythms that enriches the park’s facade and nighttime effects. At the western entrance of the park, the New Century Plaza was designed to ingeniously incorporate many memorable numerical elements of the new Chongqing. The inner plaza has a diameter of 61.8 meters, symbolizing June 18th—the official inauguration date of Chongqing Municipality. The outer plaza has a diameter of 82.4 meters, corresponding to the area of the new Chongqing (82,400 square kilometers). The circular area of the plaza features 43 memorial pillars, representing the 43 districts, counties, and cities of the new Chongqing, encircling the Century Pillar of Light that embodies the vibrant spirit of the new municipality. The pillar stands 41.8 meters tall, with a red five-pointed star at its top and 3,002 crystal spheres embedded in its surface, symbolizing Chongqing’s population of 30.02 million. The base of the pillar is 3.14 meters high, representing March 14th—the date when the National People’s Congress approved the establishment of the municipality. The center of the plaza features an engraved map of the new Chongqing, marking the locations of its 43 districts, counties, and cities, as well as the precise positions of the Yangtze River and Jialing River—a thoughtful touch. Adjacent to the Century Plaza is a uniquely designed Bridge Pavilion that blends traditional and modern elements. Covering over 3,200 square meters and stretching 130 meters in length, it connects to the Cultural Plaza. The Cultural Plaza serves not only as the central activity hub for park visitors but also as a venue for cultural performances by artists and citizens. Further east, visitors encounter a nearly 100-meter-long soaring dragon. Water cascades down the dragon’s massive body, blending with ground fountains to create the illusion of the dragon riding the clouds. In the eastern part of the park, a 554-square-meter olive-shaped glass dome Colorful Flower House functions as a year-round temperature-controlled greenhouse. It not only protects various tropical and valuable plants during winter but also nurtures rare and exotic flowers.

The park’s rear section is the Shaded Leisure Area, offering visitors a personal retreat. Surrounding the park’s central axis are vast green spaces. The over 20,000 square meters of lawns organically integrate exquisitely designed scenic spots such as "Flower Stream Fragrance," "Pebble Sentiment," "Sunflower Grove Journey," and "Flower Maze." The riverside viewing platform is a key attraction where visitors can gaze at the flowing Yangtze River, admire the layered green peaks of Nanshan Mountain, and enjoy refined leisure. Another highlight of Coral Park lies in its ingenious landscape design using plants. It adopts bold, large-scale, and colorful planning techniques, with lush greenery as the main theme. Vast lawns serve as the base, complemented by a variety of trees and flowers to create ever-changing seasonal landscapes. The riverside promenade is lined with rows of peach and willow trees, forming a vibrant tapestry of pink blossoms and verdant willows. In summer, leaf-flowering plants and crape myrtles dominate the scenery. Amidst the peak of summer, blooming flowers create a delightful visual feast. Autumn brings over ten varieties of over a thousand cotton rose (hibiscus mutabilis) plants in the northern part of the park, competing in splendor and brilliance. Winter is represented by the fragrant tree-shaded area in the park’s eastern section, lush and green, accented with camellias, wintersweet, and white magnolia blossoms—adding a unique charm to the season.