People's Square

Construction began during the Japanese occupation of Dalian. It is located in the eastern part of Shahekou District, with an area of 11,300 square meters. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were two desolate hills in the east and west, called Liujiatun Hill. In order to commemorate the Japanese Prince Shotoku, the Japanese colonial authorities built the "Prince Shotoku Hall" on the east mound to enshrine the wooden statue of Shotoku. At the same time, the hill was planned to be built as "Shengde Park", but Japan surrendered before it was completed. After the Communist Party of China came to power, the People's Government]] converted the place into a park and named it "Zhongshan Park" in memory of Mr. Sun Yat-sen. The construction of the park began in 1954. In February 1955, Ms. Song Qingling, then Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, visited the park. She put forward opinions on the construction and development of the park. In 1958, a large-scale construction was carried out, and the Prince Hall was converted into a Children's Palace. A recreation room, an open-air theater, and a flower viewing greenhouse were built successively to carry out greening. In 1983, the friendship delegation of Maizuru City, Japan, presented a stone tower symbolizing peace and friendship to Zhongshan Park to commemorate the first anniversary of the establishment of a friendly city with Dalian City. In 2003, the "Yixian Square" was built in the park, and a full-length bronze statue of Mr. Sun Yat-sen was built in the center of the square.

One of the few places it's still possible to get a glimpse of Dalian's colonial past. Most of the old Russian and Japanese buildings were razed in the many bursts of redevelopment the city has seen over the years, but the old architecture is "preserved" in the sense many of the buildings along the road are actually modern facsimiles of old Russian buildings rather than the genuine article. The old buildings that do remain are worth examining, however, and more genuine examples lie along the side roads to the east of the main street. Stalls and shops along the road sell various trinkets and souvenirs (no affiliation with Russia other than some wooden dolls) but the same items can generally be found for much less elsewhere in the city. A similar Japanese Street exists in the south of the city center, near the Children's Park, but it is almost wholly fake, with empty shells of buildings lining the road. Those interested in real examples of Japanese houses would be better served exploring the area around Gaoerji Lu to the south of People's Square, although much of what exists is in shambles.

In a spectacular old Russian building dating from 1902, the museum contains a varied and changing selection of works from local artists, ranging from traditional Chinese styles to works of modern art. The museum also periodically hosts touring shows from prominent artists both Chinese and foreign.

A major attraction for Chinese tourists primarily because of its pandas (both red pandas and great pandas live in the zoo), although many other exotic species are also represented. The zoo is essentially split into two parts, with a walking section at the top of the hill and a safari area at the base near Fujiazhuang. The two sections are joined by a cableway and a foot path, with the pandas housed in the upper section. The cableway is most popular mode of transport to get between sections, but zoo buses are also offered, in addition to walking (which is likely too much for little ones, as the road is winding and hilly). There are also parking lots at the entrances to both section. While the exhibits and conditions may disappoint some, the zoo has passed numerous international inspections and is of high quality by Chinese standards. The only crowds are schoolchildren on field trips, otherwise it's very quiet. Fast food and BBQ are available from vendors inside the zoo. You can also pay to feed some of the animals from food prepared by zoo keepers (¥4 for fruit cup, ¥10 for raw chicken).