Egyptian Ahmed Mohamed Fakhry, commonly known as George, has recently taken up the new role as a "citizen forest chief" and he's working it with gusto.

During seven years in Shanghai, one of his favorite destinations is the historical Shaanxi Road where he likes to go for a walk with his family.

With the opening of a roadside garden which has been off limits to the general public for nearly a century, he was named as a "citizen forest chief" who's tasked with protecting the garden's environment through patrols and other volunteering activities in his free time.

"I didn't expect it would happen this way," he said. "It's pretty well done. When construction started, I hadn't expected it would open to the public."

The garden belongs to the former residence of Robert Ho Tung (1862-1956), an influential Eurasian businessman who was one of Hong Kong's wealthiest men in his day.

The villa on the property at 457 Shaanxi Road N. in Jing'an District, covers an area of nearly 10,000 square meters, of which nearly a third is a garden.

Built in 1928, it is a Neoclassical-style home designed by legendary architect Laszlo Hudec (1893-1958), who created more than 60 impressive buildings in Shanghai.

After the tycoon moved back to Hong Kong in 1949, Shanghai's housing authority took over the estate. Later, it became the office of the Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House.

After the publisher left and the site was renovated to a creative park, the garden became accessible to the public last week.

According to the Jing'an Landscaping and City Appearance Bureau, fashion shows and art performances will be staged in the garden in future.

Jing'an has been adding more public open green spaces. So far, Shanghai Exhibition Center, Jing'an Sculpture Park and several other landmarks in the district have removed fences. Next year, Jing'an Hotel and Wuye Square will also open their gardens to the public.