The Purple Bamboo Park (Zizhuyuan Park) is just west of the National Library of China.



The park area contains three lakes, two islands and an abundance of bamboo stands. The park took its present form between 1952 and 1958, when the park underwent major renovations: building bridges, dredging lakes and the formation of hills. Flowers were planted and several pavilions were constructed. Bamboo and lotus flowers were the finishing touches which can still be seen in abundance. Ten different varieties of bamboo, rare in northern China can be found in this park.

A temple, known in the Ming Dynasty as the Temple of Longevity (Wanshousi) originally stood to the northwest of the lake. Here the Qing rulers built a lodging palace where they and their retinues could rest as they floated to the Summer Palace or the Jade Spring Mountain on the Changhe River. Presently all that remains of the original temple are two stone stelae and traces of two landing platforms on the banks of the river.



The Purple Bamboo Park has a long history. According to early records, before the third century it formed the upper reaches of the Gaoliang (Sorghum) River, and a famous Gaoliang Bridge stood nearby to the east. In the Ming Dynasty, the bridge was a favorite spot for city people on the Qingming (Clear and Bright) Festival, when �young girls riding in horse-drawn carts, and city folk competing with drums and banners.� In the 13th century, the lakes of Purple Bamboo Park served as a reservoir providing an important part of Beijing�s water supply. In the late Yuan Dynasty, the mathematician and astronomer Guo Shoujing built a canal along the upper reaches of the Gaoliang River with locks to regulate the water diverted from the White River Dam, the Jade Spring Mountain, and other nearby waterways. Later, however, the canal was neglected and gradually became silted up. During the Republican period it was filled in and rented out as paddy fields. After the revolution, the People�s Government transformed the fields into a new park.

The long and sinuous history of this simple park is echoed in nearly everything in China--what you can see is often just the marker beneath which a complex and enlightening story is hidden.

The English Corner is the placemarked spot on the island at the East-South (the Chinese word order) of the park. Go there on Sunday and speak in English to the locals.