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Published: July 17th 2023
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I headed to Wen Tianxiang Memorial Park, which is located in Chiwan. It wasn't too far of a walk from the subway station, about ten to fifteen minutes. I actually missed the entrance to the park the first time as there was a gate across it and some guards sitting at a table, so I thought it was some kind of private business. The park is dedicated to Wen Tianxiang, who was a poet and politician during the late Southern Song Dynasty in the thirteenth century. He is best known as a patriot and martyr for his resistance to Kublai Khan's invasion of the Southern Song Dynasty and for being captured and tortured for refusing to yield to the Yuan Dynasty. I had seen some pictures of the park online and it looked quite nice and a good place to spend a couple of hours.
I passed some kind of memorial wall that was inscribed with lots of Chinese writing, I think it was about Wen Tianxiang's life or one of his poems, but since I couldn't understand it, I passed by it quickly. The park was very hilly with lots of steps. I set off up the stairs, just
taking random paths. The paths were surrounded by lots of trees providing some shade from the sun. I could also see some of the apartment buildings that were close by. The area looked pretty new and modern. I could also see a mountain across the way and I'm pretty sure that it was Nanshan, a favourite hike of mine. As I continued to get higher, I could see the port in the distance. I liked that from this viewpoint, it looked like it was nestled between the hills. As the path continued in another direction, I could see high rise buildings of the business district. I do love all the greenery in Shenzhen and how the city mixes high tech with nature. Another turn on the path and my view changed again. This time I could see the Shenzhen Bay Bridge connecting the city with Hong Kong. I could also see the mountainous terrain of the New Territories in the distance too. I came to a nice viewing platform with some seating and spent a while there taking in the views. I could see the city off to one side and the port below. There were lots of containers in
the port and I saw a few boats coming and going, not too many though. The path conituned up and I got some views of the other side of the port. There was a lot of construction going on there, with what looked like office buildings and apartment buildings.
I reached the top of the park, which was a nice flat area with benches out in the sun and some under cover. There were a few people up there. Some blokes were power walking about, it was a beautiful day to get some exercise in, even if it was a bit too hot for me. I took a rest at t he top for a bit. I was relaxing on a bench, until I saw that there were quite a few insects about so I made a hasty retreat. The views weren’t great from the top of the park as it was surrounded by trees. I took a different path down that was nicely shaded but didn’t have any good views either. I followed the path down and it reconnected with the path I taken on the way up. While reading about the park online, I had seen a
picture of a statue of Wen Tianxiang, but I never saw it when I was in the park. I don’t know if it had been removed or was at another entrance. Anyway, while the park was not the best one I have been to in Shenzhen, I did enjoy the views of the surrounding area, especially the port area.
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
Language skills
As I read your blogs, especially about catching public transport and ordering food from small eateries etc. I often wonder how good your Cantonese and Mandarin skills are. I know the written script can be complex (especially in official capacities like on monuments); but I was wondering if you can understand /speak either? :)