Having more free-entry parks in Shanghai might have been well intentioned. But the lovely flowery idea has its fair share of thorns in its side.

For instance, visitors are routinely harassed by beggars and fortune-tellers. What's worse, some visitors to the parks urinate everywhere but in the public toilets provided, therefore making a trip to the park an off-putting one for others.

"I'm proud of our numerous free parks, but it would be better if we could stop the bad behavior," said an elderly man in Huaihai Park off the bustling Huaihai Road.

On April 1, Shanghai opened 23 new free parks, bringing the total number of such parks to 122.

Maintaining law and order in free parks is also of concern to park operators.

"According to local regulations on park operations, we cannot exercise any mandatory enforcement measures on those who do indecent things in parks except to try to persuade them to stop," said Gao Xiangwei, an official with the Shanghai Landscape Administration Bureau when interviewed by Wenhui Daily on June 23.

"The regulations were laid out many years ago and many sections are not in line with current needs and developments," Gao added. The most that can be done is to introduce more patrols to help park managers maintain law and order.

A lack of funding has also hindered park operations, according to Gao.

The local government has allowed for subsidies to cover the cost of running a free-entry park, but because visitor numbers are very high, more has to be spent on maintenance and security, Gao said.

Some cost management measures include cutting back on staff and using more volunteers. Gao said that Shanghai's parks enlist the help of more than 12,000 volunteers.

Further, most construction and maintenance jobs are commissioned to enterprises through public tenders, Gao added.

"With the public tender system, we can evaluate costs in a transparent and economical way," he said.

Many parks also support themselves by running businesses such as convenient stores and cafeterias. Some also rent out space to companies for outdoor promotions.

But, according to Gao, parks are usually selective about business activities.

"The bottom line is that parks should be comfortable places for visitors and should not be turned into outdoor markets," he said.

Shanghai has spent more than 3 percent of its gross domestic product on environmental protection in recent years. Its heavy expenditure in landscaping has paid off as it was named a "National Garden City" by the central government last year.

Shanghai's goal is to increase its green area to 12 square meters per capita. It now has more than 17 million permanent residents.

(China Daily June 27, 2005)