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Tourists take a rest in a galleried walkway of Zhongshan Park. [Photo by Wang Jin/Asianewsphoto] |
Zhongshan Park is located to the west of Tian'anmen Square in the heart of the Inner City. It is the site of the former Altar of Land and Grain.
Over 1,000 years ago the site of Zhongshan Park was the Temple of National Prosperity, which stood in the northeast suburbs of Yanjing, the Liao Dynasty capital. Under the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), the name of the temple was changed to the Temple of Longevity and National Prosperity. Although no traces of the old buildings remain, the ancient cypresses planted inside the temple serve as a reminder of those days. In 1421, the Ming Emperor Yongle built the Altar of Land and Grain symmetrically opposite the Imperial Ancestral (Taimiao) Temple, which stands to the east of Tian'anmen Rostrum. In 1914, the altar was renamed Central Park and opened to the public on October 10. In 1928, the park was renamed Zhongshan Park in tribute to the memory of Sun Yat-sen.
Address: 4 Zhonghua Road, east side of Tian'anmen
How to get there: Take bus 1, 4, 5, 10, 37 or 120 to Zhongshan Park Metro: Line 1 and get off at Tian'anmen West
