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Friday, July 30, 2021
Strolling Around Napa, California
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Fuxing Park in Shanghai
I've heard of Fuxing Park and even walked by previously, but, now, it's time to visit. Fuxing Park is right in the middle of the colonial-era French Concession and around the corner from the former residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, first president and founding father of the Republic of China. Sun Yat-sen was instrumental in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) and was appointed Provisional President in 1912. Fuxing Park was built around the same time, in 1909, with a lake, fountains, gardens, and covered pavilions covering about 10 hectares (0.4 square miles).
I enter the park through the main gate at the intersection of the Fuxing Road and Chongqing Road (South), I immediately start to walk down the beautiful paths meandering through the gardens.
Wandering further into the park yields tranquil scenes for resting, contemplation, meeting with friends, or just hanging out.
And, even further into the park, I arrive at the fountains.
And, of course, in Shanghai no garden is complete without wedding party photography in process.
As I get close to the upper exit of the park, I find people ballroom dancing, across from an imposing statue of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, created to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the death of Engels on August 5, 1985.
And, of course, a stop to listen and appreciate a singing group practicing in the pavilion.
As we are getting close to the Chinese National Dragon Boat holiday, the park is being set up for Dragon Boat races on the river in a few days. The Dragon Boat holiday is a national Chinese holiday occurring on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese calendar, thus alternately called the double fifth festival. This festival is said to have originated from locals paddling out on boats to scare the fish away and retrieve the body of Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet who drowned himself in 278 B.C. The holiday has been held annually for more than 2,000 years and the dragon boat races are a symbol of the attempts to rescue and recover the body. Dragon boats are so named because the front and back are both in the shape of a traditional Chinese dragon.