Wusong Estuary
Wusong is a port town in the Baoshan District of Shanghai where the Huangpu tributary flows into the Yangtze River. Ken and Aili, along with their friend from Wusong, brought me along to a waterside park in Wusong that preserves the estuary to inhibit local habitat destruction. After getting accustomed to Shanghai crowds, it was both refreshing and eerie to walk in a quiet park. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to nature since coming here.
Canons at Wusong Park
Wusong Emplacement Memorial Square commemorates the port’s role in the Opium War of 1842 and wars with Japan. Featured above are cannons that once lined the Huangpu and Yangtze Rivers. The cannons were positioned in such a way to make the memorial look active, as if the armaments were still defending the port. There were also glass-enclosed exhibits of captured British cannon replicas. I’m not sure if the replicas were on display because the real ones were too precious to place in the park, or because no enemy cannons were captured.
Climbing the Canon
The sole security guard told us that since no one else was there that day, we could climb the canon at the center of the square. It was used to fight the British in the Opium War.
Fruit Trees
To get our money’s worth, we threw water bottles at the park’s fruit trees. Boys sat nearby devouring the fruit while watching our frustration. After we left, they returned to the tree with long sticks to shake the branches.
Fruit
Aili finally got one, but though it looked like a sweet orange, it ended up tasting like a grapefruit.
Chinese Signs
I appreciate signs that I can understand without being literate in Chinese.