People’s Park

Why this park matters

Opened in 1911 as Shaocheng Park, People’s Park was Chengdu’s first modern public park. It occupied part of the former Manchu garrison quarter, and trade was built into the park’s purpose from the start: Eight Banners residents were allowed to run businesses here after their rice allowance ended.

The park was renamed People’s Park in 1950. It remains a working city park rather than a single-ticket monument: tea gardens, shaded paths, a lake, formal planting and early-20th-century public buildings share the grounds.

Start at Heming Teahouse

Heming Teahouse is the park’s defining stop. Its open-air seating sits by the artificial lake, with bamboo chairs, low tables and covered gaiwan cups. Order tea, settle in, and let the table serve as your base rather than treating it as a quick refreshment stop.

A gaiwan has a bowl, saucer and lid. The lid is practical: set it at an angle to signal that you would like more hot water. Mahjong is commonly played at nearby tables; watch without interrupting a game.

Walk the historic core

Make time for the Monument to the Martyrs of the Railway Protection Movement, built in 1913–14 to commemorate those killed in Sichuan’s 1911 Railway Protection Movement. It is a national protected cultural site and the park’s clearest historical landmark.

The park also contains the Sichuan Railway Protection Movement History Exhibition Hall, housed in a former public-education building. Elsewhere, the Bonsai Garden and Orchid Garden provide a compact look at the park’s horticultural side; the artificial lake and Goldfish Island break up the more formal paths.

A useful circuit is:

• Begin at Heming Teahouse and the lake.
• Continue to the monument and history displays.
• Finish through the bonsai and orchid gardens.

Getting there and access

People’s Park is in Qingyang District, in central Chengdu. Use People’s Park Station on Metro Lines 2 or 17, then take Exit A. The official address is 9 Citang Street; mapping services may also use nearby Shaocheng Road or Xiaonan Street entrances.

Park entry is free. Tea, food, boating and other services are charged separately. The grounds have several gates, so set a precise meeting point if arriving separately.

Visit with the right pace

Allow at least 90 minutes; allow longer if you plan to sit for tea. Mornings suit a quieter walk and daytime is best for seeing the park’s social side. Seasonal lotus and chrysanthemum displays are part of the park calendar and can change the layout and access around particular areas.