The Yu yuan is a perfect example of Ming style gardens. Created by the Pan family in the 1550s, the garden was destroyed two times. Heavily damaged during the Opium war, it was then ransacked by the French troops. The present-day Yuyuan occupies an area of two hectares (5 acres) and is built in a style associated with the renowned Suzhou gardens, which are characterized by an exquisite layout, beautiful scenery and artistic architecture. Each pavilion, hall, stone and stream in the garden expresses the essence of South China's landscape design from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Having no knowledge about Chinese history and culture, we did not know what we were about to discover here. I expected a Beijing heaven palace look-alike garden. We entered the place and saw a charming composition of rocks, trees, pavilion and streams. The garden is supposed to reflect the nature with its mountains, forests and seas. In the summertime, Yuyuan probably appears as an oasis in the middle of Shanghai, all green and flowered.
A great place to have some fresh air and a rest after Chinese train stations.
2 comments:
another good post..pictures are perfect I felt the slipery skins of fish...again you caught perfect angles in photos...hey I am enjoying this...congratulation...
The skins might be slipery but the old man on the right did not want to move off the cameras scope :)
Thanks Sky and Earth
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