Yuyuan Garden

Walking around in the noise and hectic town of Shanghai I was happy to find a small spot of the ancient China that were much more evident in Beijing. The Yuyuan Garden is a tranquil refugee. I found the place very calm and maybe we were lucky that the garden was't that full of co-travellers but it actually gave me some more energy to hit the city again afterwards. The garden are not that big but if you have a curious mind the details are amazing.

The base of the garden is quite old - it was apparently founded in 1559-1577. The area around the garden are today a Chinese feast in merchandise and the acticity here is the totally opposite of the garden.

It is the center of the old Shanghai. Constructed by Pan Yunduan (s. XVI) with the idea to avoid to his old parents traveling to Beijing to know the gardens imperial. This garden is where better it has been able to combine the vegetation with the pavilions, stones and pools.

Es el centro del Shanghai antiguo. Construido por Pan Yunduan (s XVI) con la idea de evitar a sus ancianos padres el viajar a Beijing para conocer los jardines imperiales. Este jardín es donde mejor se ha conseguido combinar la vegetación con los pabellones, piedras y estanques.

I went to this garden on a rainy day but still quite enjoyed it. Just take your prettiest umbrella and stroll. It's not the best garden compared to the Suzhou Gardens, but probably the best (or only one?) you can find in Shanghai City. A nice place to hang out if you got tired of the city crowds and traffic.
You might find the area outside the garden crowded, but inside the garden people are nicely spaced out, even though there are a lot of visitors (possibly because there are many hidden passage ways in the garden to hide them all?) If you have an eye for detail, you will enjoy the garden even more.