Day 37: A Trip to Yu Gardens

In spite of the fact that one of my SISU colleagues referred to Yu Gardens as "tacky," Kerry and I decided to venture out there Wednesday as part of our holiday fun. We got up pretty early in the morning to try to avoid the crowds--but not early enough, apparently.  It was quite crowded when we got down there. We used the subway and got off at the Yuyuan Gardens stop: at this point, we are pretty much resigned to the fact that, if we want to go somewhere in Shanghai we need to consider that (a) it's going to take 90 minutes each way and (b) it's going to be pretty much an all-day trip.

At first, we couldn't find it and thought it might even be closed. We went down this long hutong and the entrance on the west side was closed. Eventually, we followed the crowd and the arrows (mercifully, in English), and went to what we thought was the entrance. I found an Austrailan gent to ask about where to go for the line, and he told us where to go to buy the ticket.  The line was long and it was crowded, but not insane. It helped that there were a lot of police around for crowd control.

When we got in the gardens, it was much more peaceful. I really enjoyed it, in spite of the crowd. The crowd just didn't seem to bother me as much there. I loved viewing the temples, the goldfish, the fountains, and just being "in nature." It seemed like I was visiting Old China for the first time, and I liked what I saw. There were also rooms to view with ancient architecture and furniture, as well as an art exhibit and a couple little shops. Kerry and I did purchase three scrolls; I also got a jade cat and he got a meditation bowl.  Yeah, we succumbed to some touristy stuff, but I enjoyed myself. And we did manage to say "no" to a very aggressive saleswoman who kept taking down her price for a jade cat from 300 RMB to 200 RMB. She seemed very disappointed that I didn't purchase it.  Still, I'd love to go back to Yu Gardens.

We thought about going to a Confucian temple, but decided against it because we were hungry. So we went to this restaurant Yanmei recommended.  "Bill Clinton ate there!," she told us.  We were given a number and told to take a seat. We waited 45 minutes for a table, but I was happy to discover that I could recognize the numbers they were calling!  Also, it was fun to socialize with a little boy, who proudly told me his name in English. :)  The meal was good, but not great: we loved the spring rolls, and the broccoli was good.  We also liked the buns with shrimp and crabmeat in them. However, I was disappointed in the duck, which smelled like cat food--it tasted okay (it had rice, shrimp, peas, and gravy in the sauce), but I wasn't overwhelmed.

On the back, we found a DQ--Kerry got an Oreo Blizzard and I got a strawberry shake. We both ordered a "large" and noticed that the Chinese "large" is the American "small" size.  :)  Interesting! After that, we went back to the subway and came home.

Later on, I did some grading, but that was a pretty full day!

Here are some pictures of Yu Gardens for your perusal:

I'm with a lion!

Kerry clowning with a statue.

Me being pensive by the water.