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July 28, 2015

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Charming ‘secret garden’ reminds us of how rare tranquility is in Shanghai now

On a recent sunny afternoon, I took a trip to Fuxing Island Park, a “secret garden” tucked away in a low-profile corner of Shanghai.

As the name implies, the park is located on Fuxing Island, a tiny islet in the lower reaches of the Huangpu River, several kilometers from its intersection with the Yangtze.

To reach my destination, I took two metro lines — first Line 10 and then Line 12. When I stepped off the train at Fuxing Island Station, I counted only two other people who got off with me.

The platform was almost empty, as was the rest of the station. “Should I go through the No.2 exit to get to the park?” I asked a metro staff member sitting near a service counter. “That’s right,” the woman replied.

Outside the station, things were equally quiet. Along a tree-lined street, I saw only a few pedestrians. A couple of heavy trucks also rumbled by — several small factories and logistics yards are located on the 1.13 square-kilometer islet, which was formed early in the last century through a combination of silt build-up and artificial reinforcement.

After a short walk, I arrived at the park. Walking through the gates, I was greeted by a profusion of green vegetation and warm sunshine. With only three or four other visitors within sight, it was quiet enough to hear birds singing in the distance.

Suddenly the sound of music broke the silence. Following the melody I found a middle-aged man playing a saxophone at a kiosk. It was “The Spring of the Northland,” a popular song from the 1980s. With this tune in the background, I ventured off to explore this small, hidden alcove of tranquility.

At the edge of the park’s lawn were several stands of Jasminum mesnyi, a plant native to southwestern China’s Yunnan Province. What was the story behind these plants, I wondered, since most of the park’s other plants are native to the area. A small information board was mute on this subject, offering only general details about the plants themselves.

A tinge of regret

After wandering through the park for a while, it was with a tinge of regret that I finally decided to head back to the metro. I retraced my steps to the sound of “Flight of the Bumblebee,” and was amazed to hear this famed piano work reinterpreted for the saxophone.

An hour later, I was back in downtown Shanghai. When I stepped out of Xintiandi Station, I was greeted with the usual busy streets and loud traffic sounds. Looking at the people hurrying past, I already missed the peacefulness of the islet park.

Tao Yuanming, a famous poet during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, once wrote: “I built my cottage among the habitations of men, and yet there is no clamor of carriages and horses. You ask: ‘Sir, how can this be done?’ A heart that is distant creates its own solitude.”

Perhaps most of us don’t have a distant heart. But a small park on a remote islet may help us temporarily flee the hustle and bustle of urban life.

The islet falls under the jurisdiction of Yangpu District. So far, it has been little touched by urban planners.

Change seems inevitable though, since the islet is one of the city’s last hidden treasures. I would rather it stay the way it is than see it developed into another over-built mass of yacht wharfs, amusement parks and conference centers. We have too many such facilities in Shanghai as it is.

Tranquil corners are rare though — and this peaceful islet is one of a kind.




 

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