People's Park () is an urban public park in the center of
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
, the capital of
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. People's Park and the nearby
Hong Shan
Coordinates:
Hong Shan, Hongshan or the Red Mountain (; Pinyin: Hóng Shān; ug, قىزىلتاغ, Қизилтағ; ''Qiziltagh'') is an inner city mountain in Ürümqi, capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. The mountain, sometim ...
are very popular recreation areas for local residents.
The Xinjiang Uyghur Museum was formerly located in the park.
History
After the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
conquest of the
Dzungar Khanate
The Dzungar Khanate, also written as the Zunghar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyzstan in the south, and from t ...
in 1755, the
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
established the city of Dihua (Ürümqi) in
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian language, Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang" ...
. Outside the city walls, a lake on the former course of the
Ürümqi River was made into a recreational area for Qing officials. Several years later, the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
official Wumi Tai (
伍彌泰) built the Xiuye Pavilion (), the first structure in the area, which became a major attraction in Dihua. The lake was later called Guan Lake ().
After
Tajik
Tajik, Tadjik, Tadzhik or Tajikistani may refer to:
* Someone or something related to Tajikistan
* Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan
* Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan
* Tajik (surname)
* Tajik cu ...
adventurer
Yakub Beg
Muhammad Yaqub Bek (محمد یعقوب بیگ; uz, Яъқуб-бек, ''Ya’qub-bek''; ; 182030 May 1877) was a Khoqandi ruler of Yettishar (Kashgaria) during his invasion of Xinjiang from 1865 to 1877. He held the title of Atalik Ghazi ("C ...
's brief rule in Dzungaria, Qing general
Zuo Zongtang
Zuo Zongtang, Marquis Kejing ( also spelled Tso Tsung-t'ang; ; November 10, 1812 – September 5, 1885), sometimes referred to as General Tso, was a Chinese statesman and military leader of the late Qing dynasty.
Born in Xiangyin County ...
successfully
reconquered the area in 1878, and the Qing court established the new province of Xinjiang in 1884.
[ To demonstrate its goodwill, the provincial government built a ]Dragon King
The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in Ch ...
Temple on the lake. Liu Jintang
/ ( or ) is an East Asia, East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the c ...
( 刘锦棠), the first governor of Xinjiang, made improvements to the lake area, and renamed the lake Jian Hu (, Mirror Lake).[ In 1898, minister Zhang Yinhuan ( 張蔭桓) was exiled to Xinjiang for supporting the failed ]Hundred Days' Reform
The Hundred Days' Reform or Wuxu Reform () was a failed 103-day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement that occurred from 11 June to 22 September 1898 during the late Qing dynasty. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu E ...
movement. Zhang donated funds to build a pavilion in the middle of Jian Hu, which still stands today.[
In 1912, ]Yang Zengxin
Yang Zengxin (; March 6, 1864 – July 7, 1928) was the ruler of Xinjiang after the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 until his assassination in 1928.
Life
Yang Zengxin was born in Mengzi, Yunnan Province, in 1864. Though a Han Chinese, he had c ...
was appointed governor of Xinjiang by the newly established Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
. Yang converted Jian Hu into a public park, which was variously called Jianhu Park, West Lake Park, or West Park. It was later renamed Dihua Park and then Zhongshan Park, in honour of President Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
(Zhongshan).[
After the founding of the ]People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 1949, the Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
government closed the Dragon King Temple and converted it to a cultural palace. The temple buildings have been preserved, including an elaborate front gate that commemorates Zhang Jingchou, a Qing-era scholar and poet.[ The park was renamed as People's Park.][
]
Features
In 1953, the Xinjiang Uyghur Museum was established in People's Park. The museum was later moved to Xibei Road.
In 1956, the Monument for the People's Martyrs of Xinjiang was erected in the park, which also features children's playgrounds, public sports facilities, gardens, and flower beds.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:People's Park (Urumqi)
Parks in Xinjiang
Urban public parks
Buildings and structures in Ürümqi
1912 establishments in China
Tourist attractions in Xinjiang