China - Old Shanghai - Yu Gardens

Friday, 3 May 2019

Our morning excursion was a visit to the Yu Bazaar and Yu Gardens in the old section of Shanghai.

In general, I was surprised by how few bicycles we saw in China. Shanghai was an exception. Most sidewalks were filled with parked bicycles, especially in the older and less densely populated areas. Since Shanghai is in the coastal plain, it is fairly flat, and that also makes bicycling easier!

The Yu Bazaar is on two sides of the Yu Gardens. The shops sell everything from tacky tourist souvenirs to pricey pearls and silks. We went early in the morning in an attempt to avoid the crowds, since it was still an extended national holiday. By the time we left, the streets were mostly impassible with wall-to-wall crowds.

The Yu Gardens were originally built in the late 1500s (Ming Dynasty), but were heavily damaged (and then rebuilt) by several military campaigns, including WWII. They were restored in the late 1950s, and reopened to the public in 1961. The gardens were also very crowded.

The interconnected ponds were filled with goldfish and crossed by multiple walkways.

There is also a substantial population turtles in the ponds.

Most of the turtles were sunning themselves on rocks. I couldn't help but think of Dr Seuss' Yertle the Turtle when coming across this pile of turtles.

A dragon wall in the garden. The garden' is divided into six scenic areas that make it seem larger than the 2 hectares (5 acres) it actually occupies.

This restaurant sign near the old section of Shanghai shows how it would be helpful to know some Mandarin. The translation seems a bit too literal to help.