Chongqing- Parks are part and parcel of a city's green system and public space and also a vehicle for a city's history and culture to blossom.

In Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, parks are just outside the door of many residents. They not only satisfy people's needs for a quality life but also promote harmony between people and nature.

Now, parks have become a popular way to discover the charm of Chongqing. The city has worked toward green development to protect nature and ecology and build and manage urban parks in a scientific, eco-friendly, and thrifty way over the recent years. Since 2018, Chongqing has built more than 400 new parks and upgraded more than 300 existing parks. So far, the number of parks in the city (including pocket parks) has exceeded 2,000.

A park built on the marginal land

Zongshuwan Community Sports and Culture Park is located in Zongshuwan Community in Chongqing Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone. Since its opening, the eye-catching IP image of a snail and its perfect fitness amenities, comfortable shared bookstore, and children's playground has become very popular among surrounding residents.

Zongshuwan Community Sports and Culture Park has met the needs of surrounding residents for a healthy life and provided an unpowered playground for children, making itself an open space suitable for all ages to enjoy activities.

A "backyard garden" 

Shizishan Community Sports and Culture Park is located in Jiangbei District. It is a stamping ground for surrounding residents who like exercise.

To take advantage of the marginal land, it was built with an area of nearly 15,000 square meters. Specifically, it has two main functions. First, it is designed to meet residents' leisure, sports, and exercise needs. Therefore, two basketball courts, two badminton courts, a circular runway, table tennis tables, and a fitness equipment area have been built and set up. Second, it is also designed to hold fire prevention and rescue activities. Therefore, main facilities such as a 4D VR experience hall for typhoons and earthquakes, a projection area for geological disasters, a display screen for the causes and evolution of droughts and floods, simulated traffic lights, and VR tourist telescopes have been set up and installed.

Urban sports parks

Huangshan Sports Park, located west of Chongqing Central Park in the Yubei District, is surrounded by mountains and rivers. Fitness trails and wild plants are in great harmony, and fitness facilities are well arranged. Every corner is full of life and vitality.

Walk down along the outdoor football field for several minutes, and you will arrive at a fitness trail by the river. With a length of 3.7 kilometers, the trail winds through one after another green hilly area, giving it a unique charm.

Huangshan Sports Park covers a total area of about 494,000 square meters, of which about 240,000 square meters is green and landscaped. Inside, there are a natatorium, a martial art center, a public fitness center, and a Chongqing badminton training center. People can use them for free or for a low fee. Outside, the design takes full advantage of Chongqing's unique landform. Different facilities are built on different steps as the land surface ascends and descends like a staircase. Huangshan Sports Park has embodied the principle of benefiting and serving people and offered more people easy access to quality public services.

Tuanjie Sports Park in Shapingba District is full of green plants. Some pathways adopt the barrier-free design nicely and are convenient for strollers and wheelchairs.

There are also a basketball court, badminton court, table tennis table, and other professional fitness facilities. Notably, the badminton and basketball courts adopt the user-centered design, replacing plastic flooring with non-slip matting for swimming pools. Tuanjie Sports Park is popular among surrounding residents, and its fitness facilities are seldom unoccupied, even on drizzly days.

Pocket parks

Yulu Garden is located in Longta Subdistrict, Yubei District. On good days, many residents come to the newly built garden under a bridge to play Ping-Pong, jog, or have a walk.

Since it was completed and opened to the public free of charge in January 2021, it has satisfied the fitness needs of surrounding residents of all ages. Built on a once idle wasteland under a bridge, it has become a bright spot in the urban landscape. Facilities such as a tourist footpath, table tennis court, and badminton court have been set up. At the same time, a multi-purpose activity area has also been built to fully utilize the advantage of the space with a bridge to protect it from heat and rain, and surrounding residents like it very much.

Nearby the bus station of Baihua Village, Dadukou District, is located a characterful pocket park. Clean and green, it is popular among surrounding residents for leisure and amusement.

In total, it covers an area of about 3,000 square meters. In the open spaces, shade trees have been planted with the method of solitary planting. Besides, facilities for preschool children such as swings, leisure facilities for adults, and diverse kinds of fitness equipment such as horizontal and parallel bars have been installed. Since it was put into use, it has satisfied surrounding residents' needs for leisure and fitness and won plenty of praise.

Over the past years, Dadukou District has made constant progress towards creating an ideal living environment where "green plants can be seen outside windows, wonderful views can be seen outside doors, and beautiful flowers can be seen in all four seasons." Now, 18 pocket parks have been built in the district, making the urban space more beautiful. Notably, these pocket parks take full advantage of local landform and are located in places with a lot of traffic or a large flow of people, lending a natural, rustic, and delicate quality to the streets.