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Readers enchanted by a jaunt in Gucun Park
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WITH seemingly endless greenery, Gucun Park in Baoshan District is one of the most enjoyable experiences urban Shanghai.
The prime cherry blossom viewing season has passed, and with it the clouds of peachy, white, pink and red flowers billowing in the breeze of early spring.
Yet you can still admire late cherry blossom while rambling on the winding paths covered with petals in the forest.
Compared with a week ago during the peak blooming period, there is no longer an invasion of the 25,000-square-meter park by tourists.
Visitors can go boating on a tranquil stream or relax in pavilions for a few minutes of peace.
Twenty members of the Shanghai Daily Readers Club went on a spring outing to admire late cherry blossom in the drizzle last Saturday. They come from seven countries and regions, including France, New Zealand and the United States.
They also visited the year-round Shanghai International Folk Arts Exposition adjacent to the park and tried their hand at folk arts such as knot-tying and brown sugar painting.
Deep impression
“Building a park of such size and quality so close to the city is quite a feat in itself. I was really impressed by the environment and the amount of dedicated separate space. It’s distinctly different from most places in Shanghai,” says New Zealand newcomer Boris Jancic who has been in the city for three weeks.
Fallen petals didn’t disappoint Jancic and others whose cameras clicked away.
Fallen flowers frequently figure in classical Chinese poems, suggesting ethereal beauty and melancholy.
Lin Daiyu, the heroine in classic novel “Dream of the Red Chamber,” buries fallen petals on a hillside and weeps over the short life of the flowers. She composes a long elegy to the dead petals.
Many people are familiar with her verse: “As blossoms fade and fly across the sky/ who pities the faded red, the scent that has been?/ Now you are dead, I come to bury you/ None has divined the day when I shall die/Men laugh at my folly in burying fallen flowers/ But who will bury me when I am also dead?”
Folk art expo
The folk arts expo was the first stop on the weekend readers’ trip. An enormous red wooden dragon boat is suspended from the ceiling. Whiskers trail from its gaping jaw, welcoming visitors.
The dragon boat, its making and racing, is part of Baoshan District’s intangible cultural heritage, dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Beyond racing in the annual Dragon Boat Festival (this year it falls on June 2), the dragon boat symbolizes prosperity for local people.
As seen from above, the museum is shaped like a Chinese folk knot, an auspicious symbol of peace. It is set near green fields, a calm lake and old stone bridge.
The museum displays both Chinese folk arts and crafts from around the world.
It features interactive exhibitions as well as displays, and contemporary exhibitions are showcased.
At this time, the museum features an exhibition of flower arrangements celebrating spring and an exhibition of sculpture by visually impaired artists.
One of the ongoing demonstrations is the making and painting of brown sugar items, such as dragons, birds and rabbits.
The craftsman first cooks brown sugar and water in a pan, then ladles out a small amount on a flat metal surface. He lets it solidify a bit and then shapes it, cuts it, paints it and lifts it up to present to a visitor.
Shaping and painting brown sugar originated in the Ming Dynasty when small animals were created in molds for religious rituals.
If you want to join Shanghai Daily Readers Club, write to marketing@shanghaidaily.com.
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