Jiaoshan Park Zhenjiang China

Jiaoshan park was the first park that I visited when I first came to China and it set my expectations for all parks and temples in China. Every city in China has multiple parks and temples to visit but for some reason, the local Chinese governments like to rebuild these parks every few years, tearing down the old temples and rebuilding them to look old and ancient again. But to me, old is old and new, build to be old, is still new. Jiaoshan temple is old, and the pagoda and temples look all old and worn down by time, which is why I love this park.

Jiaoshan temple and park is located on a island in the middle of the Yangze river and you need to take a ferry to get there. After you purchase your ticket to get into the park, the ferry is free and takes about 5 minutes to get there.

I visited the park in autumn this time so some of the trees were starting to lose their leaves, which always makes the park look very pretty.

Jiaoshan park has had a few constructions projects over the last few years and each time I visit the park, there is something new to see. I guess this is true for every city in China. The rate of change in China is truly impressive and terrifying at the same. I think most Chinese cities will grow more in 6 months than a western city will grow in 20 years.

Jiaoshan park has many small temples inside of it. The more you explore, the more you will find. I have gone to the park many times and each time I go there, I find something new.

Inside the temple, things look old and a little worn down by age, but that is a good thing. Nothing worse than a newly built temple, pretending to be thousands of years old.

I love bamboo and bamboo forests. Reminds me of all the old Kunf Fu movies that I use to watch as a kid. The bamboo forest is very small in Jiaoshan park but it is very peaceful and cool. a good place to hide away in when the summer heat comes to China.

I dislike people carving there names into all the bamboo poles in the forest, but more about that later.

Jiaoshan also has an old fort build buy the British, the fort is really falling apart now and there is not much to see. There are only a few replica canons to see.

This is one thing that I absolutely hate in China and that is the need for Chinese people to write there names on everything. I am not sure when this started in China but Chinese tourists will write their names onto the walls of every single tourist attraction that they can find, on bamboo, on temple walls, on ancient statues. It is all over China and both the young and the old do it. It is a shame to see so many cultural sites destroyed like this. I have seen so many people doing this at temples and other cultural sites but as a foreigner in China, there is little I can say or do as I am only a visitor in their country.

If you climb to the top of the pagoda, there is a spectacular view of the Yangze river and Zhenjiang. It is a little scary to climb up to the top if you are afraid of heights like me, but the view is worth it.

My friend spots these pray flags from Tibet. She told me that they are very unusual to find here in the south part of China as they usually belong to the Tibetan faction of Buddhism. I know very little about Buddhism but I liked the flags though.

As the sun was setting, we had to leave the park. Although the park should close at 6pm, the sun was setting much earlier in Autumn so the park officials were rushing us out to catch the last ferry home. The sun set over the temples and the lake was really pretty so I quickly asked my friend to pose of one last shot for me.

This was my last shot of the day, we ran to catch the ferry home after this. I always enjoy my visits to Jiaoshan and I am sure I will visit the park again in the future. If you come and visit Zhenjiang one day, make sure this is one of the parks you visit. It is worth the trip.

Shaun.