Zhongshan Park, in the heart of Hankou, is one of Wuhan's oldest and most frequented public parks. The grounds occupy land that was once the British Concession's recreation area, and the park was formally established in 1928 after the Nationalists recovered the concession. The layout combines European-style ornamental gardens with Chinese pavilions, lotus ponds, and banyan-shaded walkways, and the park has the comfortable, lived-in quality of a place that has been used by the city's residents for nearly a century.
In the early morning, the park fills with the usual cast of Chinese urban park life: groups doing tai chi and fan dancing, retired men with birdcages, children before school. The amusement rides installed in a section of the park cater to a younger audience. For visitors staying in Hankou, it is a useful and pleasant place to begin or end a day before heading to the concession streets along the river.