Top 8 Featured Parks to Explore Local Chengdu Culture

People's Park (also called Renmin Park) is located in the center of Chengdu, near Tianfu Square, Kuanzhai Alley, Chunxi Road. It is currently more than 100 years old, and has always been the best place for local Chengdu people to gather and have fun. As the first public park in Chengdu, People’s Park is not only a beautiful park with artful landscapes - different green trees, endless flowers, artificial hills, lakes, pleasant walking paths, ornate garden of bonsai, but also a cultural living center for locals. People in Chengdu, especially those “old Chengdunese” like to go to the park, and spend a full day there meeting friends, chatting, drinking tea, dancing, singing, playing cars, Mahjong, chess, musical instruments, doing calligraphy and paintings, etc. You can also see a very special kind of “Bind Date”, where the seniors post bio and requirements of unmarried children to look for their soulmates. It’s highly suggested to try a ear cleaning and enjoy a tea time in Heming Tea House in the People’s Park like the locals.

Wangjianglou Park is a stunning park located near to Sichuan University with flourishing vast woods and luxuriant bamboo forests. The most famous features of this park is being a memorial site for Xue Tao who was a celebrated poetess in Tang Dynasty. There is a 39 meters tall pavilion in the park which is decorated with clay sculpture of animals and human figurines. Its roof shines brightly because of the dazzling gilding aureate was used. The panoramic views of Wangjianglou Park and nearby city skyline are fabulous from the top of the pavilion. Wangjianglou Park is also a great place to spend some relaxing hours. You can sit down and drink tea or take a leisure boating around.

Huanhuaxi Park is the largest city park in Chengdu, also the only park of 5 Star Rating Park in Chengdu. It is located in southwestern Chengdu, between the Ring 1 Road and Ring 2 Road, near to Du Fu Thatched Cottage and Sichuan Museum. It is themed by traditional Chinese Poem. Stepping into the park from the southern gate, you will see a Chinese Poem Avenue which is 338 meters long, and carved hundreds famous poems of famous ancient poet, such as Dufu, Libai, Sushi, etc. Local people have a big favor at Huanhuaxi Park because it is also a great place to spend the weekend, go for some leisure walking, drink tea, have exercise activities, fly kite, feed fish… Also, the park has a fabulous scenery - river, flowers, trees, grassland, bamboo forest, lakes.

Chengdu Culture Park is a large park located at Qintai Road which is famous for having many performance houses of Sichuan Opera. The famous Qingyang Palace is right next to the Culture Park. This park is often used as place for organizing different kinds of cultural exhibitions. Two biggest events are annual Chengdu Lantern Show (during Spring Festival) and Chengdu Blossom Festival. The Blossom Festival has lasted more than 1,000 years since Tang Dynasty for the purpose of exhibiting beautiful flowers to people enjoy. There is an educational site in the park - Twelve Bridge Martyrs Tomb which was the grave of 36 revolutionary heroes. Today, the Cultural Park is also a popular place for local people to relax and gather.

Baihuatan Park is a hidden park in busy streets, near to Qingyang Palace and Chengdu Culture Park. It features in an ancient, literary, peaceful and elegant atmosphere which can be experienced from its unique layout which consists of many small gardens of different themes, such as fragrant thoroughwort, bird & fish, bonsai, etc. This park is also a perfect place for some leisure walking on beautiful pathways enclosed by many huge and tall ginkgo trees. Compared to other parks, such as Renmin Park and Huanhuaxi Park, Baihuatan Park is much less crowded. Here you can also find a place to sit down and have a cup of tea while observing local people living and entertaining.

Yongling Park was open for public on October 1st, 2009, and was built on the site of Wangjian Tomb, also called Yongling Museum (namely the Royal Tomb of Wang Jian). Wangjian was the king of Former Shu Kingdom about 1,100 years ago. After his death, he was buried in Yong Mausoleum which looks like a hemisphere about 80 meters wide and 15 meters high. The underground palace, used to place coffin and burial objects, is 23.4 meters long and 6.4 meters high. Many precious relics were discovered in the tomb. You can visit the mausoleum, then spend some relaxing time outside the mausoleum to join locals to have a cup of tea, watch people play Chinese cheers, or playing Tai Chi, etc.

Chengdu Eastern Memory was known as the London Western District of China, National Music Industrial Base, 4A Scenic Spot, Demonstration Zone of the Fusion of Technology and Culture. It started operation in 2011, and was built on an old electronic tube factory of 1960s. The Eastern Memory Park is a great place to explore the diversity of Chengdu culture from music, art to opera, photography, etc. The best highlight is not the newly born places for entertaining, but the old memories left by the past - steely towers, huge pipelines, old machinery, large factory, etc. In addition to seeking for the old memories of Chengdu, you can also take some enjoyable walking in the park, or find a coffee bar to have fun.

Xinhua Park is a comprehensive local park with garden architectures and amusement facilities. It is also a very popular city park where locals, especially the seniors, families with kids to spend casual times. Like other parks, Xinhua Park also hold flowers shows in Spring and Autumn for citizens to enjoy seasonal natural beauty. Besides, there is a aquarium where lots of ocean creatures can be seen. A large scale of European style buildings is the highlight inside the park. Visit in a sunny day, you will find groups of locals come to the park and do lots of entertainment.