Longsha Park is the largest public park in Qiqihar, a Soviet-influenced green space with a lake, boating facilities, and the kind of relaxed, purposeful use of outdoor space that northeastern Chinese cities do particularly well. It is most alive on summer evenings when locals arrive in numbers after work — ballroom dancing, badminton, vendors selling sunflower seeds and beer, older men playing chess under the trees.
The park also contains a small zoo, which is better than average by Chinese city-park standards, and a memorial area to Chinese soldiers. The zoo is not a major draw, but the park as a whole gives a good read on the rhythms of Qiqihar life. A summer evening spent here is a more honest portrait of the city than anything in the official tourist circuit.