Liu Xiaobo Memorial Bench

The Liu Xiaobo memorial bench stands as a quiet, deliberate presence in Central Park, located near the West 96th Street entrance just north of the tennis courts. It serves as a tribute to the Chinese scholar, human rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who died in custody in 2017. While many memorials are state-sanctioned, this bench was established by private organizations, including Humanitarian China, to provide a space for reflection on his life and his long, nonviolent struggle for democratic reform in China.