Park celebrates Shanghai’s early settlers
Print Edition
Guangfulin Relics Park, about 4 kilometers from Sheshan Hill, has made its debut after 10 years of construction. The park was built on the original archeological site which was discovered in 1958 by local farmers digging a new waterway. They found ancient pottery shards.
In 1961, archeologists began the first systematic excavation of the site, unearthing a large volume of pottery vases, spinning wheels, cooking vessels and dishes, which proved the existence of a culture that thrived some 4,000 years ago.
Archeologists also unearthed sharpened stone weapons and tools used as axes, knives, chisels and shovels.
Excavations from 1961 to 2008, revealed a large number of bronze shards, wooden craft items and turtle shells, which were used to foretell the future in ancient China. Two tombs were also discovered. One contained the skeleton of a pig, while the other held the remains of a dog.
The antique items indicated that the Guangfulin ancestors migrated from the north. They tramped over mountains, waded across rivers and finally settled down in the city. To some extent, they were the first migrants of the melting pot that is Shanghai.
The relics park includes a cultural zone, a farmland protection area and there’s an old watertown providing Chinese-style accommodation outside the park. In the farmland zone, rice, corn, sunflowers, pears and peaches are cultivated.
Located on the banks of the Shenjing River, Guangfulin was a traffic hub in days gone by. Today it is the city’s new cultural and historic destination.
The cultural zone is the highlight of the park, with more than 10 themed museum areas and memorial halls. They include the Museum of Guangfulin Archeological Remains, a memorial hall dedicated to Songjiang poet Chen Zilong (1608-47) and the Fulin Porcelain Museum.
The museum complex is in the shape of three ancient jars, earning it the local nickname “jar museum.” The museum is built underwater with their roofs on the surface.
Each building in the park is constructed of old bricks, tiles and wooden posts collected from nearby villages. All the materials are more than 100 years old. The site will have cobblestone streets and buildings with whitewashed walls and gray roof tiles in the architectural style of old Anhui Province.
The relics park, including the Zhiye Buddhism, Chenghuang and Guandi temples, is partially opened to the public now.
Many shops are setting up operations in the park. Several coffee bars, goat meat restaurants and teahouses have already opened. The Duoyun Bookstore, in the style of old Anhui architecture, offers a quiet place for visitors to have a moment of peace with books and tea or coffee.
The renovated park includes a 40,000-square-meter parking lot.
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