In Shanghai's Wutong district in the hot summer of August, at midnight on weekends, most businesses have closed, and the streets are quiet.
Yandang Road at the north gate of Fuxing Park has entered the time of day. Brand-name sports cars lined up to block the wide stone road, and several old valet drivers skillfully shuttled through the traffic, slowly combing through the chaos.
The "party animals" are dressed brightly dressed and poured into the park, and their destination is the building called "INS Revival Park".
At one time, this building was called Cash Cabinet KTV. In the first decade of the 21st century, it was home to the hippest nightlife of Shanghai's youth. Park97, the official residence, and Richy later settled in, and Fuxing Park circulated a lot of Shanghai night talks that were difficult to distinguish between reality and reality.
In 2014, the businesses gradually closed and the former nightlife landmark Fuxing Park calmed down.
Nine years later, the "Money Cabinet Building" was renamed "INS Revival Park", which is said to have originated from the proud words released by a young man in 93: "We feel that this generation of young people is living too hard, so we spent 100 million US dollars to build our own amusement park for this generation of young people." ”
Just a year ago, Fuxing Park completed a complete upgrade, and the 24-hour century-old garden has a new lease of life.
E-sports, music, trend culture, outline the nightlife of Generation Z; Lawns, rockeries, gardens, ponds, have become urban public spaces for more citizens to rest and activities, and the century-old Fuxing Park presents a completely different scene due to the alternation of day and night.
【I】
Adjacent to Chongqing South Road in the east, Fuxing Middle Road in the south, Sinan Road in the west, and Science Hall in the north, it is located in the core area of the city, and it is the only garden in Shanghai that retains the French classical style, laying the special status of Fuxing Park in Shanghai.
In the lives of Shanghainese, Fuxing Park plays an important role. Some people grew up playing here, some people studied hard for three years and jumped the dragon gate, some people got married here and opened a new chapter in their lives, and some people enjoyed a peaceful retirement here.
In summer, Fuxing Park, towering ancient trees shade the sun, large lawns are green, small pond lotus flowers bloom, sunken bed flower beds are tall and tall.
At half past six in the morning, Lao Zhang walked a few minutes from his home to Fuxing Park with a backpack. Old friends who worked together had gathered around the bench where they met and waited for him. He took out a red empty bamboo from his bag, hung it on a long rope, and walked up to the park's open lawn, only three or two dexterous shaking, and the empty bamboo flew up and down in his hand, "buzzing".
Ten years ago, Lao Zhang retired and had a lot of free time. The body is the capital to enjoy a long retirement life, so he quietly went to Fuxing Park next to his home to "investigate" which morning training team to join.
The aunts' boxing is the mainstream, and many teams show their own skills; There are also violent groups that laugh all the way and circle in the park; What attracted him the most was the "empty bamboo troops" that occupied a corner of the large lawn. These old mages did not scream, the empty bamboo shook, that fancy, that movement, will inevitably become the focus of the audience.
Lao Zhang said that in the end, he chose empty bamboo not to play cool, "Empty bamboo is an alley game where the Ala iterative people Xiaochenguang have lived in vain, now pick it up and find some fun in childhood." I came to exercise every day for 2 hours, and after a few years, the cervical spondylosis frozen shoulder was all gone. ”
Fuxing Park in the morning is the territory of the silver-haired people. Playing badminton, ballroom dancing, playing saxophone, picking up a "heavy cannon" shot to shoot lotuses... Everyone has their own habitual position and rhythm.
Lao Xu, who is in his 70s, is also a frequent visitor to the park. He is black and thin, does not like to socialize, and comes to the park only to practice hard every day and improve his boxing skills. He played Chen and Yang and knew them all. Recently, because I was practicing a new Tai Chi routine, I haven't memorized all the movements, so I wrote a small copy with more than 20 movements, and practiced while watching.
Lao Xu, who was boxing, did not realize that the place where he practiced had opened another entertainment venue. I just remember that one day, the baffle in front of the building was removed, and his mobile territory was loosened again.
Lao Zhang, who comes to shake the empty bamboo every day, has insight into the changes of grass and trees in the park. "I Xiaochenguang went to Fuxing Park Baixiang, 5 cents a ticket, there is also a zoo in the box, and it costs 3 cents to see lions and tigers. Later, it was free, and at the end of last year, the park wall was demolished and opened to the public 24 hours a day, making it more convenient to come in. ”
Lao Zhang smoothly pointed to the location of the former zoo, which is now the building of "INS Revival Park". "I only know that there has been a KTV here, and the Ara salaryman does not dare to come to consume, and now that the e-sports center has been opened, the young can still bounce, I don't know what the box looks like."
Across a lane, a distance of just a few tens of meters, in Lao Zhang's eyes, it is another world.
【II】
After a night of hormone release, "INS Revival Land" is still sleeping. At 2 a.m., it was the peak of its heat.
It will not be until the end of September this year that the "INS Revival Park", which focuses on e-sports culture, will be fully completed. However, a few stores that have only been open for 2 months are full night and night.
With huge capital entering the venue, it not only has top-notch sound and lighting hardware, but also becomes a new stop for internationally renowned DJs.
From veteran American rapper Ty Dolla Sign to Canada's new-generation genius 347adian, and several electronic DJs who are regular American Billboard guests have appeared in INS Revival, and there will be well-known artists at home and abroad performing in the future.
Architect Sanders is an American "post-80s" who lives in Shanghai all year round, likes to drink and jump, and outside the tense workplace, he is a hippie with a typical American West Coast lifestyle. Where there are newly opened night clubs, he can always get information first. Like many local hipsters, INS Fuxing just opened, and he moved from his usual strongholds "Found 158" and "TX Huaihai".
INS Revival's four stores are not large, but they have their own characteristics. Being concentrated in one building means that every space can easily gather popularity.
And the young people who come here to jump, from hip hop, to pop dance, to techno, one night, three or four hundred pieces, the elevator up and down, you can play it all over.
A· WAY is a brand from New York that specializes in alcoholic ice cream, and its founder is said to be a top student from Yale. Ice cream with sake flavor in front and Moutai special coffee in the back, A· The rich flavor of making ice cream into cocktails is also a new height, but its most popular skill point is still in the "very out" store environment.
Fireplaces, sofas with large rounded corners, pink lights, funky neon lights on the walls... Open Little Red Book, indispensable for all kinds of beautiful photos of Internet celebrities labeled with this store. And the positioning of this store can be regarded as a "starter" to start the nightlife at INS. The sisters came early, they could have a place to sit and chat, a little alcohol blessing, emotions aroused, and an hour later they could get into the heat and start bouncing.
Also opened on the road shop along the street on the first floor, there is finally enough outdoor space to set up tables and chairs, for drinkers to sit and chat, the original "characteristic scene" of squatting on the road to party can not be seen here, but there are a lot of a variety of beers.
Both in A· WAY TO HAVE A DRINK, OR A DRINK AT THE HIGHWAY STORE, IS A STARTER WARM-UP, WALK INTO THE BUILDING, START BOUNCING, IS TO CUT TO THE POINT.
Near midnight, Sanders appeared with the scent of cologne, and there were already long queues in front of various stores. As soon as midnight passed, the field was hot, and everyone appeared in unison. Sanders ran to Hush's window, bought a beer, and waited with his friends.
"Hush" on the second floor is the first store in Shanghai in cooperation with PH, the hottest hip hop bar in Beijing. The space is designed as a submarine, and two faceless figures in a hoodie in the corridor create a sense of mystery to the environment. A row of circular portholes faces the park, and in the distance are the lights of the city's high-rises.
The red light projected by the lattice windows in the ceiling is like an emergency light in a submarine, dazzling and making people nervous. From the dance floor to the couch to the booth, no one is sitting. People stood and jumped in every inch of space they could get, only the bartender holding up bottles of champagne in the crowd, struggling and desperately trying to make their way through.
The DJ is dressed in hip-hop, and the rhythm of rap, the rhythm of low frequencies, and the colors of electronic music flow between busy hands. The dance floor in front of him was already packed, each with their faces facing the direction of the DJ booth, their bodies rising and falling with the waves of music. DJ is the helmsman of this submarine, mastering the angle and direction of the waves, leading people to the other side of the sea.
On the third floor, RADI blends house and pop music, the volume drums the eardrums, the rhythm rushes to the roof, the atmosphere group leads the dancer sister in a graceful posture, and the sequins around the waist blingbling in the flickering light. The temperature on the dance floor is rising, the venue is too crowded, and the distance between people is exploring the possibility of further compression.
The red flowing light, psychedelic, dazzling, spilled into the smoky dance floor, under the light, faces swaying, undulating, enthusiastic, or addicted in a limited space. Until a bursting rhythm suddenly sounded, the dance floor was activated at once, and everyone greeted the melody wave, raised their hands, and shouted with joy.
The Lafin on the sixth floor is the most popular in the whole building, taking the unique cutting-edge European and American diversified music route in Shanghai, and the crowding level of the bungee is the same as that of several other shops, comparable to canned sardines. Even if you want to jump vertically, it is difficult to leave the earth's surface, and the DJ in control can even feel the warm breathing of the guest in front of him.
Behind the four-meter bar, five bartenders lined up, busy and not flustered, quickly opening bottles, pouring wine, adding ice, stirring, shaking the jug... Sanders and his companions couldn't squeeze into the dance floor, so they were in the doorway, dancing to the rhythm.
Electronic music fans who advertise themselves as real Rave claim to be for music, like listening to Techno. Playground's niche hardcore techno style, cold, rational, with the speculative temperament of an artist, from DJs to listeners, have confidence and pride in their unique taste.
Techno style is obsessed with and hated. Nasty people feel that they are not high enough, and for enthusiasts, they can't stop in the repeated surging mechanical sound and get intoxicated pleasure.
At three o'clock in the morning, the city was sleeping deeply, and Sanders stood on the dance floor where he could barely reach his fingers, allowing his thoughts to be guided by Techno's repeated rhythms and melodies, as if layers of waves surged on the calm sea. Only the occasional sweep of light made him realize that there were friends around him, and he was not a no-man's Mars.
Deep in the promenade that connects Lafin to Playground, there is also a hidden Mini Bar, also with DJs, as if stepping into a thousand and one nights of fantasy atmosphere. Floor-to-ceiling windows with large sofas facing the park, where guests often sit to welcome the sunrise.
At night, the elevator in the building is particularly busy, carrying young people up and down. The beef noodles, cold skin, and grilled sausages on the first floor become a calorie supplement after a night of bungeering.
When the nightlife of Fuxing Park was rising, the noodle shop in the lane hall opposite Huaihai Middle Road was still open 24 hours a day. Only those old cannons will remember the taste of a bowl of yellow fish soup noodles.
【III】
The change of day and night in Fuxing Park records the different aspects of urban life today. Like the century-old Fuxing Park, it has left traces of the French once lived in Shanghai.
In the 80s of the 19th century, the location of Fuxing Park was still fertile land, and a landowner surnamed Gu built a private small garden here, which is the prototype of Fuxing Park, "Gu Family House Garden".
In 1900, when the eight-nation coalition invaded Beijing, the Shanghai French Concession Public Administration Bureau bought 152 acres of land in and around the Gujiazhai Garden, and leased part of it to the French army to build barracks for the French army's garrison.
In 1908, the French Concession authorities decided to convert it into a park and hired the famous French horticulturist Berber as an assistant superintendent of the project. In 1909, the park was completed and officially opened to the public on July 14, French National Day, called Gujiazhai Park, commonly known as "French Park".
Comparison of sunken bed flowerbeds in the past and now (old photo source: Fuxing Park)
At the beginning of the 20th century, many French people lived in Shanghai. The Board of Directors wanted to create a "Paris of the East" in the French community, with Sinan Road as the core, and carried out detailed planning. Small European-style bungalows were built within one kilometer of Sinan Road, and French Park became a supporting facility for the community.
In 1934, Laifed Road near French Park was renamed Daxing Road, and French Park was once called Daxing Park. It was not until after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War that Daxing Road was renamed Fuxing Middle Road in 1946, at which time this famous French-style garden was officially named Fuxing Park.
Comparison of the rose garden between the past and the present (old photo source: Fuxing Park)
After more than 100 years, the skeleton of the French park has not changed, and the sunken bed and rose garden pattern in old photos are no different from today. The gardener's continuous meticulous care makes the park have both French style and Shanghai charm. Today's rose garden is planted with more than 20 varieties of monthly season, especially in April and May every year, more than 1,400 square meters of monthly season bloom, the old-school garden instantly turned into the most fashionable Internet celebrity check-in point.
After retiring, Lao Yao returned to this neighborhood to take care of his old father who lived here. He doesn't come to the park every day, but only goes to the Shanghai library to return books, and he stops by the park to finish the last few pages. Living around Fuxing Park since he was a child, he has witnessed the changes here for decades, he said: "It's not that I talk big, I can walk around Fuxing Park with my eyes closed." ”
Old Yao studying in Fuxing Park
"Ala Spring Tour doesn't come to Fuxing Park, because it's too close, and it feels like a spring tour. Studying in Nanchang Middle School, we came to the park to work and dig up sludge in the lotus pond. There is also the old house next to the gate of Gaolan Road, where Zhang Xueliang lived, and many people don't know. It's nice that the park is quiet and quiet, and it's best not to be too commercial. ”
According to Lao Yao's words, the cultural atmosphere of the early Fuxing Park is very strong. Tian Han, Yu Dafu, Ye Shengtao, Xu Zhimo and many other Shanghai literati often gather in Fuxing Park, which was once a pioneer of literary fashion.
In 1951, Ba Jin's family took a group photo in Fuxing Park (old photo source: Fuxing Park)
Yu Dafu wrote in "The Walk of the Lotus", "Fortunately, at dusk, there is no one around the park, so I have to cry to my heart's content; Sometimes I was tired of crying, and I used to sleep on the grass of that park. ”
At the end of the 70s of the 20th century, the college entrance examination was resumed, and the whole society rose to read books. Science corner, English corner, learning corner, in Fuxing Park is not lively. Lao Yao said: "I have also been to the English corner several times, and there are two old gentlemen who graduated from St. John's University, and many people were preparing to go abroad to read new concept English and practice oral English here. ”
Citizens reading newspapers in Fuxing Park (Photo by Xue Baoqi)
Shanghai photographer Xue Baoqi once recorded in Fuxing Park in the late 70s and early 80s of the 20th century, after the national college entrance examination resumed, there was a reading fever in Shanghai: young people who have become parents, while taking their children while seizing time to study hard, hoping to change their fate when admitted to university; There are also students who are approaching the college entrance examination and ask the teacher to do a sprint explanation.
Young father studying in Fuxing Park (Photo by Xue Baoqi)
Nowadays, not many people come to Fuxing Park to study, and compared to that era, citizens have many better choices of cultural venues in Shanghai today. As for the reintroduction of entertainment formats in the park, there are also citizens who have reservations, such as Lao Yao.
"I always feel that it has nothing to do with Allah's life, it is parallel, and if there is a lot of trouble at night, whether it will affect the surrounding residents is also a question." Old Yao said.
Making the park accessible to all age groups is a test for exploring new management models.
The landing of the "INS" project once worried the park management. More than a decade ago, at the height of nightlife, "the best looking little girls in Shanghai were in Fuxing Park". In the middle of the night, traffic is constant, noise is disturbing, and drunk guests leave a mess in the park.
However, as a public space, Fuxing Park has always been open after all, and in every era of the past, Fuxing Park has always been closely associated with a fashionable and fashionable lifestyle. The rose wedding ceremony of the Shanghai Tourism Festival, the Shanghai Fashion Week runway, the Shanghai Marathon Health Run, and the Shanghai National Fitness Day have all left footprints in the park.
In the past three years, the young management team of INS project has used their creativity, integrated resources, combined with the park's ecological and environmental protection theme, and actively participated in the "Fuxing Park Art Season". In the process of co-creating the content ecology of the park, the park management feels the sincerity of this group of young people who want to integrate into the park and improve themselves, which also makes the management willing to accept the lives of young people with a more open and inclusive attitude.
In the future, as a new landmark of Shanghai's "Global E-sports Capital", more than 50% of the main project will present an e-sports space with a ceiling height of 12 meters and more than 1,000 square meters, which will expand the territory of youth trend culture gathering place.
At night, when the lights of "INS Revival Park" are lit, the fence in front of the door draws a flexible boundary between nightlife and night park. The small sign "Grandparents are sleeping, everyone is quiet" reminds young people of the sense of order at the same time of carnival.
Stimulated by loud music all night, Sanders collapsed on a large sofa, facing the large lawn outside the floor-to-ceiling glass window, watching the sky turn white, which is the moment he enjoys the most every time he comes to Bungdi, watching this big park in the heart of Shanghai usher in a new day.
At half past five in the morning, Lao Chen, a native of Wenzhou, walked into Fuxing Park. A year ago, Lao Chen went to Shanghai to help his son and grandson. Living not far from Fuxing Park, he often came to wander around, and also worshiped Master Empty Bamboo, and after studying for three months, he was finally able to shake Empty Bamboo without falling to the ground.
After the morning exercise, Lao Chen went to the convenience store at the door to buy 2 buns, thought about it or did not hold back, walked into the time-honored Weixiangzhai on Yandang Road, came to a bowl of classic sesame sauce noodles, accompanied by a bowl of curry beef soup, Lao Chen slowly integrated into the life of Shanghai.
Column editor-in-chief: Zhang Chunhai Text editor: Jiang Diwen
Source: Author: Qin Dongying Dong Tianye