Zhongshan Park

Warning: This post will be very picture heavy and may take some time to load! 

The closest metro stop to where I've been staying is called the Zhongshan Park Station. Every day since I've been here, I've walked past this "park". About 100 yards back from the street, there's an entrance gate to go into the actual park part, but I had never really had any need to go back there. Yesterday, however, Ashley and I decided it'd be really fun to pick up a picnic lunch from the City Market (it's an international store--custom salads/sandwiches/pasta, several kinds of homemade soups, gelato, fresh bread, plus all tons of imported food).

Here's a wonky picture I took of the map. Notice the bright pink box that says "You Are Here". Yes, this is a MASSIVE park. We spent about 3 hours wandering around this place, and could definitely go back and spend more time there. It was a beautiful day in an absolutely gorgeous park.

First we walk in, and turn the corner to find this picturesque bridge. Look at that cute Chinese family having a fun boating adventure on the lake.

 

This is the view we enjoyed while feasting on our picnic. 

Mmm doesn't it look delicious? We had custom made sandwiches. I got roasted chicken, lettuce, homemade pickles, and mozzarella cheese on baguette and Ashley had tuna salad and cheddar cheese on ciabatta bread. We split a bowl of pumpkin soup (its wrapped up in this picture--sorry!) and we had some fresh mini baguettes on the side with butter and strawberry jam. For dessert, I had an apple spice cookie and Ashley had a banana coconut cookie.

We even had music to listen to while eating :)

Here's just a few shots of the scenery.

 

They even had a cupcake shop! In the middle of the park! Unfortunately, I didn't get to try one this time, but I did peek at them and they looked delicious. I grabbed a menu, for future reference. 

We did have a few "interesting" moments at the park. First of all, we were pretty much the only foreigners there, so we did feel a bit like zoo animals with all the stares we got. This park actually has like an amusement park area with 15ish rides (I'll get to that in a moment.) As we were walking through that area, an elderly man came running after us. We heard him, and turned around. He just kept saying "Hello, Hello, Hello. Where are you from?" and grinning from ear to ear. A few moments later, a lady who looked like a nurse, came up behind him and grabbed his arm and lead him away... maybe it was a nursing home visit? Not quite sure.

So the amusement rides. It was really dead that day, but they were all open. We decided to ride the "Viking". It's one of those ships that rocks back and forth, but get pretty high. As you can see, we were the only ones on the ride. As soon as it started, a crowd of about 20-30 Chinese people formed at the base of the ride to "watch" us. Of course, we had to put on a good show, so we had our hands up and were screaming the whole time. They loved it.

 

And finally, a picture of the actual "park". Notice the rope in the picture. Apparently, you can only step on the grass in certain areas. And, you have to take your shoes off to do so. Gotta love the Chinese!