Cheng Huang Temple (城隍苗) and Yuyuan (豫园)

Finally I can blog again by direct email to blogger from China! A backdoor access to blogger.com since China has cut off access to the site since January 2003. If you are living in China and wants to blog on blogger.com, you first need to have an account. Get someone to do that for you first. After that, you can start blogging by sending email to [username]@blogger.com and it will be published within 5-10 minutes.

Anyway, back to my travelogue.

Revisiting the scenic Chenghuang Temple was truly an amazing experience as i began to uncover its mysteries I may have missed on my first visit! More time was spent wondering around the beautifully crafted buildings and landscapes of the area. There is actually a place for worship for the Buddists called the Chenghuang Temple, which is adjacent to the Chenghuang Temple's premise. I did people-watching for a bit just observing the behaviors and reactions of tourists who have been there for their first time. I can't help to realize that the expressions on my face were not so different from any one of them from my first visit -- taken aback by the splendid architectures and the way it was landscaped!

I walked the zig-zagged bridge to a place called Huxin Ting (湖心亭) and sat down to have Xihu Longjing (西湖龙井) tea. The green tea was absolutely and fabulously good! Moreover, the interior decorations of the Huxin Ting was that of ancient Chinese style, mostly wooden. I was fully rested with the tea and the surrounding ambiance made it even better! Did I forget to mention that Huxin Ting the pavilion that is in the middle of a lake linked by the zig-zagged bridge?

Outside the Yuyuan (豫园)Garden, showing the Huxin Ting (湖心亭) where I stopped over for Xihu Longjing (西湖龙井)green tea. Photo by: Airunp

Next, I checked out the The Garden of Yuyuan (豫园), a historic site and truly a marvelous place to be! I could have gone in without a ticket by sticking myself closely among an Asian (Korean) tour group while the entrance guard counts the number of tickets given to him by the tour's guide with the number of heads that passes through the gate. I bought a ticket anyway. After I passed through the gate without a ticket, I kinda felt bad for the last person, whom eventually would not have found a ticket for him. It's only 40元 for an adult ticket.

In my opinion, the best times to go to the Yuyuan Garden is between July and September, and around 2PM or 3PM. Make sure you stay till sunsets to catch the beautiful colors of the setting sun and skies against the Garden. It's like an extremely picturesque paradise that can only exists in one's mind. Initially, I didn't think I would stay for long, but the Garden kept me inside for a good 4 over hours! There are a total of six part to the garden and each on of them is strikingly amazing! The son of a high-ranking government official built the garden all by himself to please his father. It was all built on private land and he spent nearly 20 years to create this garden, which is now considered as one of the four finest Chinese Gardens in the world.

The Magnolia trees as old as over 300 years old can be found in the garden. Gardens furnished with ancient Chinese furnitures from Ming Dynasty and decoratives are to be marveled at. It was even mind-blowing that a large part of the garden is surrounded by a dragon wall, with its head at the entrance to that part of the garden. Miniature bridges, lakes and ponds positioned in such perfect harmony with everything else (floras & decoratives), I was beyond impressed and taken aback and convinced by the fact that the mind behind this creative creation of the garden was truly a genius; and it is still a wonder today!

If you're visiting the garden on your own (not part of a tour group), chances are you may be approached by private tour guides specializing in the tour of the garden. They will introduce and tell you the history of the place for a fee of 100元. Look for Mr. Bao, an elderly retired man.

The ticket was definitely worth paying for! The garden was undeniably captivating!

Photos (click on photo to enlarge)

Enchanted!

Marveled and excited!

Yu Garden and Chenghuang Temple overlooking the pavilion at the centre of the lake.

A sight to behold, in my opinion.

Lo and Behold thy beauty of Yu Garden

Against Huxin Ting (湖心亭) where I rested and had tea.

The entrance of Yu Garden

One of the many wooden wall sculptures (??)

Panoramic view: The hall facing the entrance of Yu Garden.

Panoramic view: Another impressive hall named "The Yi Fang Boat" (亦舫)
It looks like a boat floating not on the water but on the land. You may feel that you are really on a boat moving along the shore.
The fences perimetering the hall features delicate patterns and the one the stood out is that of wave. I was taken by surprise at the creator's creativity.

The perimetering fence of The Yi Fang Boat, featuring wave patterns at the bottom hem of the fence (closest to the floor).

HDR Image: A path entrance west of The Yi Fang Boat leading to another hall.

HDR Image: Probably one of the most outstanding miniature lake and river. The 400 over years old Magnolia trees stand on the right side of the river bank.

Really impressive!

Panoramic shot: Captivated!
My body, mind, and soul were at peace. I just could not overstate enough about how harmonious this place is.
It is favorite place to be. This gobsmacking lake is located near the exit of the garden. I don't know what it's called probably because I did not hire a personal tour guide.

This part of the garden is walled-in by the entire length of a dragon -- from it's head to its tail. In other words, a master-crafted and/or sculpted wall detailing the scales of the dragon's body, it's head, and it's tail.

Harmony. I love this photo!

HDR Image: After visiting Yu Garden, I head off to Pudong to catch a nightshot of the Shanghai's Radio and TV Tower, near Lujiazui (陆家嘴) or Pudong area.