Guangqi Park 光启公园

Since today we planned to go out for lunch with a friend who lives at XuJiaHui, we decided to visit this park which is located just across the road from his apartment.

When we arrived, we were surprised to find that this park is so small. However, do not let the smallness bluff you. There were indeed quite a lot of people in this park. Seems like it is quite frequented by the local people staying nearby.

We could see people coming here for exercise, dancing, parent bringing their kids, Chinese martial art training with sword, etc.

This park is free entrance. This park is originally Xu Guangqi's 徐光启 tomb in the Xujiahui area on Nandan Road (南丹路).

The entrance stone inscription

Before the main entrance to the park, one has to cross a small stone bridge.

Right after the bridge is the main entrance to the park.

Main entrance

A long pathway leads the visitors to the tomb of Xu Guang Qi. Xu Guangqi 徐光启 was a Chinese bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician in the Ming Dynasty.

On both side of this pathway were stones statues normally found in tomb of famous people. These statues are supposed to guard the tomb.

In front of the tomb is a Christian Cross. Guang Qi is a Roman Catholic.

In 1629 (the second year in the reign of Emperor Chongzhen), Xu Guangqi led the reform of calendar. In 1632, the Chongzhen Calendar was basically completed. The work laid the foundation for the early modern Chinese calendar because of its combination of eastern and western, ancient and contemporary astronomic research results.

Within the park, there is an area for recreational. Some exercise equipments are placed there for public to utilize.

Trying hand on the exercise machine

Lotus pond in the middle of no where

Xu was a colleague and collaborator of the Italian Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Sabatino de Ursis and they translated several classic Western texts into Chinese, including part of Euclid's Elements 幾何原本, was printed in 1607. He was also the author of the Nong Zheng Quan Shu, one of the first comprehensive treatises on the subject of agriculture.

Ricci's influence led to Xu being baptized as a Roman Catholic in 1603, under the name "Paul Xu Guangqi".

Xu Guang Qi and Ricci

What are they talking about?

Walking out of the park and heading towards the XuJiaHui Cathedral, along the way we found the statue of Xu Guang Qi.

Status of Xu Guang Qi

A very small park indeed. In fact it was Guang Qi's tomb that turned into a park. Guang Qi must have been quite wealthy and famous in the past. The XuJiaHui Cathedral was built on the land that he donated to the church. Somemore, XuJiaHui name came from his family name Xu. It must have been something to have a whole large district named after ones family name.