Sha Tin Park, formerly known as Sha Tin Central Park, is a

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

at 2 Yuen Wo Road,

Sha Tin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The new ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. It is situated along the

Shing Mun River The Shing Mun River (Chinese: 城門河) or Shing Mun River Channel (Chinese: 城門河道) is a river in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. History The original Shing Mun River began at Needle Hill, and flowed into the former Tide Cove (Sha Tin Hoi), a sh ...

in the new town of Sha Tin, next to the

New Town Plaza New Town Plaza is a shopping mall in the town centre of Sha Tin, Hong Kong. Developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, it was the biggest shopping centre in the New Territories when it was completed in the early 1980s. Covering 200,000 square metre ...

Sha Tin Town Hall Sha Tin Town Hall is a town hall at the town centre of the Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. It is located near Sha Tin station, Sha Tin Park and New Town Plaza. It is part of the podium complex which includes the Sha Tin Town Hall, Sha Tin Publ ...

, and Sha Tin Public Library. The park occupies 8.05

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s (19.89

acres The acre ( ) is a unit of land area used in the British imperial and the United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, ...

) of land, and is managed by

Leisure and Cultural Services Department The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultural ...

. The opening hours are from 6:30 am to 11:00 pm.

History

Most of the land that the park occupies was reclaimed from

Tide Cove Sha Tin Hoi / Sha Tin Sea () or Tide Cove is a cove at the mouth of the Shing Mun River. It is between Ma Liu Shui and Ma On Shan. The cove is open to Tolo Harbour (Tai Po Hoi). It was largely reclaimed for the development of Sha Tin New Town. ...

during the construction of the Sha Tin New Town, though some of the land existed beforehand and was previously occupied by the

Sha Tin Airfield Sha Tin Airfield was a small military airfield in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, which had a single concrete runway. The airfield was located along the Shing Mun River and looked out to Tide Cove. The airfield served as a Flight (military u ...

, a military air base. While the park was under construction, a "sneak preview" was provided to the public as it was temporarily opened from 14 to 17 March 1987 for the Hong Kong Flower Show. The park was opened on 24 August 1988. It was then named as ''Sha Tin Central Park''. It was built and administered by the Regional Council. Shortly following the

Tiananmen Square massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

, the

Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China ( zh, link=no, t=香港市民支援愛國民主運動聯合會; abbr. ; ) was a pro-democracy organisation that was established on 21 May 1989 in the then British Hon ...

erected a replica of the ''

Goddess of Democracy The ''Goddess of Democracy'', also known as the ''Goddess of Democracy and Freedom'', the ''Spirit of Democracy'', and the ''Goddess of Liberty'' (; ), was a statue created during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The statue was constructed ...

'' statue in Sha Tin Central Park, on a temporary basis, with the approval of the council. Over 4,000 people attended its unveiling on 3 July 1989, with many laying wreathes at the foot of the statue. In 1997, the pro-Beijing camp within the council voted down another application by the alliance to temporarily exhibit the ''

Pillar of Shame ''Pillar of Shame'' is a series of sculptures by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt memorialising the loss of life during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing, China committed by the Chinese Commu ...

'' statue in the park on the anniversary of the massacre.

Facilities

Facilities include the Main

Plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

, Amphitheatre, South Garden, North Garden, Artists' Corner, Walled Garden, Verandah,

Azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

Garden, Scented Garden, Children Playgrounds (in both South Garden and North Garden), Light Refreshment Kiosks and Birds Conservation Area in the park. In the Scented Garden, ''

Michelia figo ''Magnolia figo'' (also called banana shrub, port wine magnolia, ''Michelia figo'') is an evergreen tree in the magnolia genus. It grows to tall. It is native to China. Initially described by Portuguese missionary and naturalist João de Loure ...

'' and ''

Osmanthus fragrans ''Osmanthus fragrans'' (), variously known as sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive, is a flowering plant species native to Asia from the Himalayas through the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, souther ...

'' are planted. Artists' Corner is an open area for the artists exhibiting, displaying, sharing, and selling their personal products with the public every Saturday, Sunday, and Public holiday. There is a Wedding Garden in the Artists' Corner.

References

External links

Details on Shatin Park website
{{coord, 22.3800, N, 114.1903, E, source:zhwiki, display=title Landmarks in Hong Kong Tourist attractions in Hong Kong Sha Tin Urban public parks and gardens in Hong Kong

History

Facilities

See also

References

External links