Shànghǎi: Daning Linshi Park

12th April 2013.

The next morning, our third in Shànghǎi, we bounded down to reception to see if our luggage had arrived in the night.  It hadn’t.

We set off to find the location of Shànghǎi Circus World, as we were going to a performance there the following night.  It was easy enough to find, being just a few Metro stops from our hotel.

Nearby was the Daning Lingshi Park, so we set off to explore it.  What a find!

 

 

Distributed through the park were sculptures illustrating various Chinese fables.  This fable was called Cao Chong weighed the Elephant.

Above is the fable.  We thought it was rather lovely.

 

The park contained some very beautiful lakes and gardens.

 

I’m sorry to say I took a naughty delight in some of the well-meaning but inaccurate English translations we came across in China.

Here, a simple misplacement of a t transformed the serene Lotus Pool to a Louts Pool.

 

At every turn throughout the park were bright flower gardens.

 

Then we came to White Beach, a popular place for wedding photos.

 

The wedding parties seemed happy to share the beach with children building sandcastles.

This bride and groom seemed to be doing some digging of their own.

The assistant’s job was to make the bride’s veil float romantically behind her.

Once they’d finished at the beach, the brides hitched up their skirts and trooped off to another photogenic location.  One of the brides we saw wore jeans under her wedding dress for easier hitching up.  I think the photo shoot is held on a different day from the actual wedding.  There was a wedding dress hire place just outside the park.

 

I’ve never thought of the pansy as a particularly perfumed flower, but when you stand next to about a million of them, the perfume is delightful.  They look pretty amazing as well.

 

Pansies and cherry blossoms.

 

Just cherry blossoms.

 

Cherry blossoms against the willows.

 

Pansies and a statue.

 

Having fun in the park.

 

Just for a change, a Japanese maple (I think).

 

Serenity amongst the high rise.

 

A water bird obliging poses beside a pool.

 

From this side of the pool, we could see a romantic couple in a paddle boat; White Beach, where the brides were still posing and the children still playing; the strip of trees with the banks of pansies beneath them and a gracious low rise building, all set against a dense high rise background. 

 

Another statue in the park.

Later in our trip, in Xián, we saw a wonderful Tang Dynasty show, which featured a world famous player of these pipes, a performance I’ll remember for a long time.

 

This statue illustrated another Chinese fable, entitled “Kong Rong donated his pear.”

Having worked out how to get to Shànghǎi Circus World, which we attended the following night, we continued on our way, delighted to have discovered this beautiful park.