It’s always fun to spend some time in a park, and it’s even better to be in a local park. We visited Yuexiu Park in Guangzhou, and we had a great time!
Amy and Dave recommended this park, and insisted that we should go. Thanks to them, we had a great time and had a lot of fun exploring a park in this large city. It reminded me of High Park at home in Toronto.
Yuexiu Park is the largest park downtown in Guangzhou. It consists of around 213 acres, 3 artificial lakes, and seven hills. It is named after the Yuexiu Mountain which is part of the park. Attractions in the park include an amusement park, a bamboo forest, museums, shops, restaurants, and more.
The main feature in the park is the Five Ram statue. There is a story behind this statue. In the ancient times, there was a famine in the city and it was a very bad time for the people. Then, 5 immortals came from heaven riding rams with rice in their mouths. The people received the rice and the immortals left. The rams turned into stone and the city was prosperous. The stone rams are a symbol of Guangzhou city today and the name of the city means “city of rams”.
Another section is called the World of Idioms and Fables, which tells old Chinese folk stories using statues. Since I was unable to read the Chinese signs which told what the stories were, I did some research on Chinese fables and got sucked into reading them. They were really enjoyable stories and reminded me of the Brothers Grimm stories. Click here to read some neat fables.
Our last stop in the park was a banyan tree known as the Wishing Tree. To make a wish, you write your wish(es) on a red ribbon weighed down at one end with rice (like a small bean bag) and throw it into the tree. If it stays in the tree, your wish(es) will come true. It might sound easy, but it took us a few tries to get the ribbons to stay. In the olden days, oranges were used as weights and thrown! There was a lady selling the ribbons near the tree, so all four of us bought one and made our wishes. This is a really neat and unique way to make a wish.
It was a great experience to visit a local park in the city of Guangzhou. I loved learning about their stories and customs in a neat environment. Yuexiu Park is a very beautiful place and is full of interesting culture.
Comments
4 responses to “A Walk in the Park….”
This was so interesting to read about Mikhaila. Looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing your pictures and story. Harriet
Hello Harriet,
The park was really beautiful and we had a great time there. I especially loved the statues of the idioms and fables. 🙂
Hi Mikhaila,
The Park is certainly very beautiful and well maintained!!!! I can’t wait to read the Chinese Fables!!! Thanks you for sharing, and by the way, did you notice the Greek key on the big jar that the children are escaping from? Love, Baba
Hi Baba,
My favourite fable I read is about how foot binding started in China; it’s really interesting! I didn’t even notice the Greek key until you mentioned it!