Yu Yuan or Yu Garden

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Yu Yuan or Yu Garden is the best known garden in Shanghai. Yu means "pleasing and satisfying" and yuan means "garden". This garden was first built in 1559 and covers a five acre area. It was opened to the public in 1961. Compared to the other Chinese gardens we have visited, it seemed more like a maze, meaning it had many small areas and seemed harder to find our way around. It did make it quite interesting though as you were never sure what might be around the next corner or through a door. The things that stand out to me as being a little different about Yu Yuan were all of the little carvings on the rooftops and the Dragon Wall throughout the garden. We were with a friend when visiting and didn't take quite as much time as we usually would, so I didn't stop and figure out what all the buildings were, so will just post the pictures for you to enjoy. All around the garden is a huge "bazaar" or shopping area. Unfortunately, when we left the gardens, we hardly had any time to shop because the shops started closing up at 4:30! I definitely plan to return and spend a little more time in the garden and shopping.

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Photos

Roof Figures
There were lots of small carved figures on the rooftops, very detailed and all different.