Yuyuan Gardens

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Despite the heat of Thursday we decided to venture a bit outside our immediate neighbourhood and check out the Yuyuan Gardens. The gardens were built about 500 years ago by an aristocrat from Sichuan Province. It was an amazing collection of traditional Chinese architecture, art, water-eroded rock sculptures (which seem to be very popular decorative pieces here) and peaceful pools of koi (who I swear go into a feeding frenzy as soon as they see a human approaching the water). It was an interesting contrast with the modernity of today's Shanghai, and you're constantly reminded of when and where you are by the buildings on the horizon. You can probably see that in some of the pictures that are attached. We were dropped off by the taxi in the old city of Shanghai, which has a lot of very traditional architecture but a lot of very touristy shops staffed by assertive salespeople. There were also a lot of "hey ladies" again as street hawkers would try to peddle their wares. I was actually surprised that there were a lot of Western fast-food restaurants including Dairy Queen, McDonalds, KFC, etc. I needed to find a quick snack somewhere before heading into the garden so we stopped at a Starbucks, which again could have just as easily been on any street corner in downtown Toronto.

The photos attached I think speak more than I could really explain here in words. It was really beautiful, and so cheap to get in (about $4.50). It's definitely a place I'd consider returning to, if anything to find a place for some quiet reflection. In any case, you really get a sense from this place that this is a very ancient culture - we certainly don't have anything like that back in Canada. We stopped in a shop at the Garden that was selling authentic jewelry and artwork from the various ethnic communities around China. The shop was divided into four or five sections based on the various regions that included Tibet, Yunnan, etc. Jen bought a really nice jade pendant and while she was negotiating price with the shopkeeper I spoke with two other ladies who were working there, who took a keen interest in the Canadian Olympics shirt I was wearing that day. They first wanted to talk about the three symbols that make up the Chinese word for Canada (Jia-na-da) and their individual meanings. I can't remember what the last two were but the first word "Jia" refers to a family or grouping of people. Anyway they wanted to know everything from the average temperatures to the amount of snow we get, and real estate prices. We were asked quite a few times that day about Canada and my shirt turned out to be a great conversation piece. Even walking down the street as people passed me I could here them say "Jia na da". The following day - Friday, which is the day I'm typing this entry - I tried wearing my New York City t-shirt that Jen's parents bought me when they were there and not a single person asked me about it.

So that was the jist of my day on Thursday. That evening we came home and Jen made some delicious pasta, which we ate while watching Lost in Translation. Great movie, for anyone who hasn't seen it. So that's it for Thursday - I'll almost definitely be back to the Yuyuan Gardens!!

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Photos

Photo 1
Took this shot from the cab - I think this is a sign commemorating the rescue efforts after the Sichuan earthquakes

Photo 2
Big gap between rich and poor here

Photo 3
This is the outer part of the old city after the taxi dropped us off

Photo 4
Some great architecture here.

Photo 5
Lots of touristy shops here with aggressive salespeople

Photo 6
These little alleyways led to the inner part of old Shanghai where the gardens were located

Photo 7
This is the main square before you go into the gardens.

Photo 8
Yours truly enjoying a snack at Starbucks

Photo 9
Needless to say, everyone is trying to capitalize on the Olympics here

Photo 10
Jen in front of one of the koi pools

Photo 11
All smiles despite the heat. Check out that building behind us!

Photo 12
Hungry fish who weren't being koi about it...

Photo 13
Good description of the gardens at the entrance

Photo 14
This was our first shot from inside the gardens....check out the roofs on these buildings

Photo 15
Inside one of the many buildings at the gardens

Photo 16
Lanterns

Photo 17
It was like this everywhere...breathtaking

Photo 18
Speaking of breaktaking...

Photo 19
Nice sculptures

Photo 20
These little windows offered you peaks at what's to come around the corner

Photo 21
I loved the roofs here

Comments

[Jonathan]

Wow... Just wow...
Hey guys! Glad to hear you've arrived safe and sound. These blogs are great to keep in touch! Keep them updated as much as possible, I'm bookmarking them. Right now I'm green with envy, just looking at these pictures... These gardens seem wonderful. The pictures reminded me of the Dr. Sun-Yat Sen chinese gardens in Vancouver, with the landscaping, the white walls and dark brown/grey roofs and the peak windows you mentionned, only these 500 year-old gardens seem even more spectacular! Can't wait for the next post, keep up the good work!

[James]

very...koi
Hey - loving these blogs too. If anything, I find it hard to keep up with you! Everyday there seems to be two more entries I haven't read. Do you have a computer setup at the 'hotel' to enter all these? Has the weather been consistently hot? When does their summer season end? How are you getting around? Public transportation OK? Or is everything walkable?

[OJ]

Yeah we have our Mac set up on a desk in the hotel room and we're set up with high speed internet....although it isn't all that high speed. Takes a long time to upload the photos. The weather is consistently hot, and I think it only went slightly below 30 early this morning. Apart from that its at least 40 degrees, all the time. Some days we have to shower twice and I have to wash my face and hair at least 2-3 times per day from the sweat and pollution. We actually haven't taken the transit yet. I've heard they have a good subway and it's super cheap (about 30 cents) but we take taxis everywhere. Our most expensive cab ride yet was this morning, which took 20 minutes and costed 3 bucks. Definitely the way to go, since it's cheap and you don't have to deal with navigating public transit. There still is lots within walking distance though....we're within walking distance to at least 4 or 5 malls and lots of great shopping. It's only a 10 minute walk to work, but you definitely get sweaty out there.