Fuxing Park (Fuxing Gongyuan), which located in the south of Shanghai, is formerly a private estate in the French Concession.

Fuxing Park carries the history of Shanghai. It was originally named Gujiazhai Park after the local
Gu family who opened it over 100 years ago. It was renamed the French Park when the French
bought it to station armies in 1900. After World War Ⅱ broke out, the French withdrew from the city
and the Japanese Government took over the administration of the French Concession, the park
name then became Daxing Park. After the Chinese won the anti-Japanese war in 1945, its name
was finally changed to the one it still holds today-Fuxing Park. 

Fuxing Park is the only French style park in Shanghai. It is well designed and many different trees
provide shelter from the sun here for residents in the hottest months of the year. As a result, it is
also called "carpet garden". There is also a slightly surreal sculpture of Marx and Engels in the park
that was completed on the ninetieth anniversary of Engels' death on August 5, 1985.

At the heart of the French Concession, Fuxing Park is one of Shanghai's most attractive green spaces. At almost any time of day, the pace of life
here feels a few beats slower than the city around it. This bucolic oasis is best enjoyed early on weekday mornings when Tai Chi loyalists,
ballroom dancers, fishermen, chess players, opera singers and masseuses spread out across the heavily wooded park to work and gossip.

The sight of hundreds of people in synchronized movement is breath taking. You can also see
one or two walking backwards - a practice believed to be good for the health. In the afternoon, old
men play leisurely games of chess and cards. A favorite hangout for people of all ages, a leisurely
stroll will reveal old men playing chess as well as lovers holding hands. On the weekends,
retirees who share a similar interest of singing foreign songs meet frequently in the park and the
choirs are a nice addition to the park. Different charity activities are staged in the park as well.

The park features many trees, flowers and grassy areas that makes it seem all the more serene
contrasted against the busy shopping always going on nearby.

Today, this is one of the city's most popular parks, home to a number of restaurants and
nightclubs, as well as to pleasant fountains.