Local residents walk in Kandawgyi Natural Park. Pic: Hein Latt Aung

YANGON’S reputation as a garden city is well deserved, with the metropolitan area beautified by scores of parks where residents and visitors can relax or exercise and at some venues, be entertained.

It is the entertainment venues which are attracting increasing numbers of visitors to some parks, said U Nyunt Pe, the head of the Yangon City Development Committee’s Playgrounds, Parks and Gardens Department.

Visitors to entertainment venues have doubled in recent years and there has also been a noticeable increase in the number of people who exercise in the parks in the mornings, said U Nyunt Pe.

The department is responsible for 59 parks and playgrounds throughout Yangon, many of which charge admission fees.

“We collect the fees to cover the cost of maintaining the parks,” U Nyunt Pe said.

Kandawgyi Natural Park, which reopened in 2005 after an extensive upgrade of its features and facilities, is one of the most popular destinations for those wanting to use its exercise equipment, be entertained or simply to relax and unwind in its leafy glades.

Two of the zones at the park under the YCDC’s department are the Shwe Tadar Oo Yin (Golden Bridge Garden) and the Thit Taw (forest) zone, which are favoured by visitors attracted to their leafy retreats.

A regular visitor is Maung Pyayt Thet Aung, 19, a second-year botany major student at Dagon University, who likes to spend time in the zones early in the morning on weekends.

“I love the peace and quiet in the parks where I can enjoy moments of solitude surrounded by nature,” he said.

An education zone at Kandawgyi Natural Park is jointly operated by the YCDC and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. The ministry also runs an area off Natmauk Road where shops sell a range of plants.

The eastern end of the park features two popular leisure and entertainment venues, both of which are managed by the Zaykabar company.

They are the Karaweik Oo Yin Kabar funfair area, which features a mini-zoo and playgrounds, and the Myaw Sin Kyune entertainment area on an island in Kandawgyi Lake, where a stage in an attractively landscaped amphitheatre is used for concerts and free shows. The area can accommodate up to 3000 people.

“It’s convenient for concert goers because we can relax in the park and enjoy the entertainment at the same time,” said Maung Sanay Htoo, a supermarket employee, who often attends shows at Myaw Sin Kyune.

The shores of Inya Lake are also graced by parks, including two run by the private sector: Seinn Lan So Pyay Park, on Inya Road, which opened in 2004 and Mya Kyune Thar Park and Playground, on Kaba Aye Pagoda Road, opposite the Sedona hotel.

Seinn Lan So Pyay Park, run by the Seinn Lan Kabar company, features a large children’s playground, secluded gazebos and two restaurants, one of which is built over the lake.

A member of the park’s management team, Maung Tun Ko Ko, said it had become so popular among people of all ages since it opened that plans were underway to increase its size.

Attractions at the Mya Kyune Thar Park and Playground, managed by the Gayhar company, include a Ferris wheel, bumper cars and a merry-go-round.
“Our objective is to make sure our visitors have a lot of fun,” said the park’s manager, U Myint Oo.

For parents with children at school, the city’s parks and playgrounds provide welcome retreats for leisure and recreation where the pressures of study can be temporarily forgotten.

“We usually take our two children to playgrounds at the weekends because leisure time is important for them,” said Daw Yin May. “Most children are under a lot of pressure to perform well at school because of the expectations of their teachers and parents and they need time to relax; they are so happy while they are playing,” she said.

While the opportunity to relax in pleasant surroundings is clearly appreciated by visitors to parks and playgrounds, some say the prices at the restaurants within their grounds are beyond their means.

“My family cannot afford to eat at the restaurants in parks, so when we visit them we take some snacks whith us,” said U Kyaw Swar Lin, a retired public servant.