| The
Sun Yat-sen Park, covering 32 hectares in the northwest
corner of Yinchuan, including a 6.7-hectare lake, is the
largest of its kind in and around the city. It is also
the oldest park in the entire region of Ningxia. According
to history books, when Zhao Yuanhao, king of the Western
Xia Kingdom, established his capital at Xingqing Prefecture
(present-day Yinchuan), he had the Yuanhao Palace built
in this place, with the lakeside decorated with a series
of scenic buildings and sights. During the Qing Dynasty
this was where Han, Manchu and Hui people mingled for
business transactions or festive celebrations. In old
days the park was known as “Western Manchu Camp”,
In 1929, it was given its present name in memory of Sun
Yat-sun, father of the Chinese democratic revolution.
The park is studded with 18 scenic spots, including “Pavilion
in the Twilight of the Setting Sun”, “Lotus
Pond in the Shape of a River”, “Iron Buffalo
Drinking from the Pond”, “Autumn Grass Swaying
atop Ancient Walls”, “Boat Moored to Waterside
Pavilion in Moonlight”, “Zigzag Bridge in
the Shadow of Weeping Willows”, “Rippling
Waves on a Lake of Liquid Silver ”, “Tolling
the Bell in Communion with the Moon”, and a stone
tablet inscribed with the calligraphic work of the celebrated
general Yue Fei. A few years ago a golf court was completed
in the park, which also operates a zoo with 500-plus animals
in 70 rare and endangered species, five greenhouses with
a total of 8,000 flowers and miniature landscapes on display
all the year round, and a well-equipped children’s
amusement park.
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