Yuyuan Gardens & Bazaar

With its shaded alcoves, glittering pools churning with carp, pavilions, pines sprouting wistfully from rockeries, whispering bamboo, jasmine clumps, stony recesses and roving bands of Japanese tourists, the Yuyuan Gardens are one of Shànghǎi’s top-notch sights. With over 1000 visitors daily, securing an early-morning visit is advisable. The adjacent bazaar is arguably tacky, but great for a browse, if you can ignore the surrounding sales roar and the fake-Rolex pushers. Look out for the lāyángpiàn ( 拉洋片 ) performer, a fashionable form of entertainment in 1920s Shànghǎi. Weekends at both the gardens and the bazaar can be overpowering. Pick up a map of the bazaar at the tourist office or follow the signs for orientation.

The Yuyuan Gardens were founded by the Pan family, who were rich Ming dynasty officials. The gardens took 18 years (from 1559 to 1577) to be nurtured into existence, only to be ransacked during the Opium War in 1842, when British officers were barracked here, and again during the Taiping Rebellion, this time by the French in reprisal for attacks on their nearby concession. Today the gardens have been restored and are a fine example of Ming garden design – if you can see through the camera-wielding crowds that blot them out, that is. Though the gardens are small, they seem much bigger due to an ingenious use of rocks and alcoves. The spring and summer blossoms bring a fragrant and floral aspect to the gardens, especially in the heavy petals of its Magnolia grandiflora, Shànghǎi’s flower. Other trees include the Luohan pine, bristling with thick needles, willows, ginkgos and cherry trees. A handy map depicting the layout of the gardens can be found just inside the entrance. Keep an eye out for the Exquisite Jade Rock ( 玉玲珑; Yù Línglóng), which was destined for the imperial court in Běijīng until the boat sank outside Shànghǎi, and the Hall of Heralding Spring ( 点春堂; Diǎnchūn Táng), which in 1853 was the headquarters of the Small Swords Society (which may have been one reason why the gardens were spared revolutionary violence in the 1960s). Note also the beautiful stage, dating from 1888, with its gilded carved ceiling and excellent acoustics.

The two shiny pavilions in the eastern corner were only added in 2003. Next to the entrance to the Yuyuan Gardens is the Mid-Lake Pavilion Teahouse ( 湖心亭; Húxīntíng; 8.30am-9.30pm; tea downstairs/upstairs Y25/50), once part of the gardens and now one of the most famous teahouses in China, visited by Queen Elizabeth II and Bill Clinton among others. The zigzag causeway is designed to thwart spirits (and trap tourists), who can only travel in straight lines. Surrounding all this is the restored bazaar area, where scores of speciality shops and restaurants – including the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant – jostle over narrow laneways and small squares in a mock ‘ye olde Cathay’ setting. If you can handle the surging crowds it’s a great stop for lunch and a spot of souvenir shopping. Just outside the bazaar is Old Street, known more prosaically as Middle Fangbang Rd, a busy strip lined with slightly better souvenir and curio shops.