The main gate at Qingdao’s Zhongshan Park

More than 50 Zhongshan Parks in China will apply for world heritage status, according to media reports in Qingdao, Wuhan, Changsha and other cities.

The application will be submitted by China’s Zhongshan Park Association, which represents the world’s largest number of parks with the same name. Qingdao Zhongshan Park, established in 1901, plays a vice-president role in the association.

The history of China’s Zhongshan Parks is the epitome of the history of the modern China. Construction of the parks began during the Sun Yat-sen movement in modern China. Many medium and large cities renamed their parks in honour of Sun Yat-sen — better known in China as Sun Zhongshan. The parks, many of which are more than 100 years old, today are major centers for local entertainment in many cities.

Of all 75 Zhongshan Parks worldwide, 51 are on the Chinese mainland, 16 are in Taiwan, two are in Hong Kong and one is in Macao. There are also two parks with the same name in the US state of Hawaii, two in Canada and one in Chiba in Japan. Jingzhou city’s Zhongshan Park in Guangdong province is the largest one in the world, covering an area of 74.6 hectares, according to China’s Zhongshan Park Association.

Ke Changwei, deputy secretary of Wuhan Zhongshan Park and the vice-president of China’s Zhongshan Park Association said that China’s 51 Zhongshan parks are planning to apply for world heritage status, which would add them to a list of protected areas.

Miao Jiguang, director of the management office at Qingdao Zhongshan Park said that successful applications would provide incentives to enhance cultural and botanical protection for the parks.

China’s Zhongshan Park Association was established in Wuhan in 2003, and members include Zhongshan parks in Beijing, Qingdao, Wuhan and Xiamen. Miao said Qingdao Zhongshan Park is the oldest of the Chinese mainland’s 51 parks and is the largest comprehensive park in Qingdao.

Facing the Bohai Sea to the south and surrounded by mountains in the other three directions, the park is the most popular botanic and scenic park in Qingdao. The park was originally named “Xu Park” and then renamed Zhongshan Park in memory of Sun Yat-sen in 1929.

There are more than 100,000 plants representing at least 360 botanical species in the park, among which the most famous is its widely planted cherry trees. The park opened free to the public on April 12, 2008.

Cherry trees at Qingdao Zhongshan Park

By Audrey and Chen Zhilin