People Park

People's Park is an urban open park in focal Xining, capital of Qinghai area in western China. Covering a territory of 99 acre, it is the largest park in downtown Xining. The park was established in 1959 and extended in 1964. People's Park is situated on the south bank of the Huangshui River, at the conjunction of Huangshui and Beichuan rivers. Its focal point is a fake lake which is fixed with willow trees and crossed with two curve bridges in the style of the Jiangnan area. It is partitioned by a walkway into West Lake and East Lake. The west bank of the lake is fixed with a 200-meter 660 ft arcade. North of the lake is the Lakeview Tower, which affords all encompassing views of the lake toward the south and the Huangshui toward the north.

The park was first opened in 1959, with very little in excess of a simple zoo. In 1961, Yao Jingquan, another graduate of Beijing Forestry University, was assigned to work for the urban construction authority of Xining Municipal Government. As the main person in the department who had studied park and garden design, he was tasked with redesigning the park. The focal point of Yao's design was a fake lake, which would be used for skating in winter and sculling for the rest of the year. Water for the lake would be sourced from the adjacent Huangshui River. The city government embraced his proposal and prepared countless volunteers to burrow the lake, which took three months to finish.