Xiamen Zhongshan Park, Urban park in Siming District, Xiamen, China.
Xiamen Zhongshan Park is a 11.07-hectare park in Siming District, laid out in 1927 by Zhou Xingnan and architect Lin Rongting around the natural waterways of the old city's northeast edge. Its three sections follow the principle "East Pagoda, West Hill, South Globe, North Sea": a memorial monument and stadium in the south, the Salt Grass River and flower exhibition hall in the middle, and the He'an River with a zoo and Phoenix Hill in the north. Eleven named bridges cross the water, and the south gate is a 20-metre-wide three-arch screen of Quanzhou white granite with green glazed tiles.
The park was established in the early 20th century and named after Sun Yat-sen, who played a key role in China's modernization. Its creation reflected new ideas about public green spaces in urban areas during that period.
The park's name comes from Sun Yat-sen, and a bronze statue by sculptor Pan He, 7 metres with its base, was raised in the southern half in March 1985. The zoo in the north-east opened free of charge in 2011, the first in mainland China to do so. Since the 1970s the park has hosted Lantern Festival displays and spring chrysanthemum and flower shows.
The park is open daily throughout the year at no cost, making it easily accessible any time you wish to visit. Multiple entrances along Park South Road and Gonghe Road allow you to enter from different parts of the neighborhood.
The park's zoo, in the northeast corner, became mainland China's first free-admission zoo in 2011. It grew from a 1947 "animal corner" of two sheds and four monkeys behind Miaoshi Temple. The park's 11 bridges were renamed in 1997, including Tingqia Bridge, built with funds left by Singaporean overseas Chinese Lin Tingqia.
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