THIS year, Shenzhen’s first park — Zhongshan Park in Nanshan District — turns 100 years old. Established in 1925, it has stood as a witness to Shenzhen’s remarkable transformation from a city with just one park to a vibrant “city of gardens” with 1,320 parks.

According to Liu Yue with the Nanshan District Park Management Center, Zhongshan Park, named in honor of the Chinese democratic revolutionary pioneer Sun Yat-sen, was established following his death in 1925. It was funded by Hu Yu, the then magistrate of Bao’an County, which is the predecessor of modern-day Shenzhen.

Initially spanning just 13,000 square meters, the park underwent renovations in 1984 and 1998 and was expanded to 490,000 square meters — more than 37 times its original size.

During these upgrades, China’s largest Sun Yat-sen bust stone sculpture and a group of eight statues honoring individuals with significant connections to Shenzhen were installed in the park.

The park boasts 36 ancient trees and a 646-meter section of ruined wall from Nantou Ancient Town.

When the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was established in 1980, the city only had two parks: Zhongshan Park and Shenzhen Reservoir Park. Built in 1961 and opened to the public in 1966, Shenzhen Reservoir Park, located in today’s Luohu District, was later renamed Donghu Park.

Over the past 40 years, the number of parks in Shenzhen has increased in tandem with the city’s rapid growth. An average of 30 new parks are added each year, according to the Shenzhen Park Management Center.

From 1982 to 1990, Shenzhen built parks such as Litchi Park, People’s Park, Children’s Park, and Honghu Park, as well as the Fairy Lake Botanical Garden. In 1990, park construction was listed as one of the government’s key initiatives to improve people’s well-being, sparking a wave of park-building. In 2019 alone, the city built 117 new parks. This year, 35 parks will be newly built or renovated, the center said.

As per a territorial space development plan for 2021–2035 released by the city government, Shenzhen will build more than 1,500 parks of various types. It is the city’s goal to provide all residents with access to green, open spaces within a five-minute walk from their homes.                                     (Mu Zi)