Sights and attractions, experience Huangpu Park in Shànghǎi

Address
East Nanjing Rd, The Bund
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Transport
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underground rail: East Nanjing Rd
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Lonely Planet review

Shanghai's - indeed China's - very first public park was laid out in 1886 by a Scottish gardener shipped out to Shanghai especially for that purpose. Originally called the Public Gardens, the park today is famously deformed by its anachronistic Monument to the People's Heroes (人民英雄纪念塔; Rénmín Yīngxióng Jìniàntǎ), underneath which is the Bund History Museum (外滩历史纪念馆; Wàitān Lìshǐ Jìniànguǎn).

A notorious sign at Huangpu Park, then called the Public Gardens, apocryphally declared 'No dogs or Chinese allowed'. Although this notice never actually existed, the gist of the wording hits the mark. A series of regulations was posted outside the gardens listing ten rules governing use of the park. The first regulation noted that 'The Gardens are for the use of the Foreign Community', while the fourth ruled that 'Dogs and bicycles are not admitted'. Chinese were indeed barred from the park (as expressed in the first regulation), an injustice that gave rise to the canard.

The bluntly worded sign has however become firmly embedded in the Chinese consciousness. Bruce Lee destroys a Shanghai park sign declaring 'No Dogs and Chinese Allowed' with a flying kick in Fist of Fury and Chinese history books cite the insult as further evidence of Chinese humiliation at the hands of foreigners.

Shànghǎi overview Sights (79)