| People's Park | |
|---|---|
| White Dragon Park | |
 Main entrance of Nanning People's Park | |
 | |
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Nanning,Guangxi, China |
| Coordinates | 22°49′38″N108°19′50″E / 22.82722°N 108.33056°E /22.82722; 108.33056 |
People's Park (Chinese:人民公园;pinyin:Rénmín Gōngyuán) is an urban public park in centralNanning, the capital ofGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. It is also known asWhite Dragon Park[1] (Chinese:白龙公园; pinyin:Báilóng Gōngyuán) because of the White Dragon Lake inside the park.[2]
People's Park is located at 1 East Renmin Road in central Nanning, a ten-minute walk from Chaoyang Square. Its main features are the 70,000-square-metre (17-acre) White Dragon Lake (白龙湖), with a small island connected to the shore by two bridges, and Wangxian Hill (望仙坡), the highest point in downtown Nanning. On top of the hill is theZhenning Fort (镇宁炮台), reached by 141 ten-meter-wide (33 ft) stone steps.[2][3]
In the middle of the park is the Shady Botanical Garden, featuring rare herbs, local flowers, and a 1,000-year-oldbanyan tree.[1] In the northeast corner is a 25-metre-tall (82 ft) Monument to Revolutionary Martyrs, surrounded bypine andcypress trees. The park is rated anAAA tourist attraction by theChina National Tourism Administration.[2]
According to theSouthern Song dynasty geographical textYudi Jisheng (輿地紀勝),Di Qing (1008–1057), the Northern Song general who suppressed the rebellion ofNong Zhigao in Guangxi, stationed his troops nearby. He once saw a flock of white sheep beside the lake, which he thought resembled a dragon, and named the lake White Dragon Lake.[2][3]
The Temple of Six Lords (六公祠) once stood on top of Wangxian Hill in the park. The temple was dedicated to six significant people in the history of Nanning, namely Di Qing, Sun Mian (孫沔), Yu Jing (余靖), Su Jian (苏缄),Wang Yangming, and Mang Yitu (莽依圖).[2][3] In 1917, the Guangxi warlordLu Rongting demolished the temple and built the Zhenning Fort on the site, with a 120mm rail-mounted cannon manufactured by the GermanKrupp Company in 1890.[1][2] The fort and the cannon are now open to visitors.[1][2]