Monday, November 5, 2007

Shanghai Weekend, Yuyuan Carden









These picture were taken in the Yuyuan Garden. This is right in the heart of Shanghai. Don't think that there are a few people visiting, The last picture is similar to the one above but includes the crowd. How many people visit daily it many, many thousands, yet you felt a very calming effect while walking around the garden.

This is information about the Garden.

Yuyuan Carden was built during the reign of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1577), 440 hundred years from now. It is a residential garden built by Pan Yunduan, minister of finance in Sichuan Prooince in the Mig Dunasty. Pan built the garden to “please his parents and let them enjoy themselves in their late years”. In ancient Chinese “yu” means “pleasing”, hence the name of the garden. The garden is typical of the gardening art south of the Changjiang River and is famed as “a wonder of beauty in south-east China”. It is still a famous classical garden in south China. At the end of the Ming Dynasty the garden was deserted. It was rebuilt in the 25 th year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1760). In the 19 th century, during the Opium War, the beautiful garden was badly damaged. During the Small Sword Society Uprising, the Spring Hall in the Yuyuan Garden was made as the northern headquarters of the uprising army. Now, there is a number of historical relics left by the uprising, like weapons, coins and literature. After liberation, the municipal government renovated the garden several times. It was opened to the public in 1961. On entering the gate, you will come face to face with the Three Corn-ear Hall. Standing in the hall and looking up, you will see a borizontal plaque with the characters “Mountians and Forests in the City”, describing the environment of the garden being located in the midst of a bustling town yet full of the natural pleasantness of mountain and forests. Going through the “Hall of Viewing the Mountain” you can see a large rockery on the other side of a pond. It is 12-m high, piled up with 2,000 tons of yellow stones from Wukang, full of twists and turns, , looking magnificent and enchanting. The Inner Garden was built in the 48 th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1708), occupying only an area of 0.13 hectare but complete with all the rockeries, ponds, halls, chambers, pavilions and terraces, crenelated walls and corridors, cleverly arranged and proportionately laid out. In front of the Hall of Jade Magnificence in the Outer Garden are 3 stone peaks; in the middle of these is the Exquisite Jade Stone. It is one of the famous exquisite stones south of the Changjiang River, the other two being the Duanyun Peak in Suzhou and the Wrinkled Peak in Hangzhou. It is 3.2-m tall. In the stone are 72 holes. If you burn an incense at the bottom, smoke will come out from all the holes; if you pour water from the top, there will be water dripping from all the holes. It is said that it was a piece of curio stone of the Imperial Marbel convoy in the Song Dynasty. It somehow got lost on the way and then reclaimed. The stone also has a history of more than 400 year here. In the garden there are such famous tourist attractions, like the Happy Fish Waterside Pavillion, a Thousand Flower Hall, the Hall of Mildnesss, the Hall of Elegance, the Nine-zig Bridge, the lotus pond, and the Mid-lake Pavilion. This classical garden, integrating the gardening art of the Ming and Qing Dynasties with chambers and halls, beautiful rockeries, luxuriant trees and plants, is featured by its gracefulness and peacefulness, delicateness and exquisiteness, small but striking you as large, presenting the artistic styles of gardens south of the Changjiang River. It deserves the fame of a masterpiece of classical gardens. It is listed as a key cultural relic protected by the state and a popular tourist attraction for both domestic and overseas tourists.

This is the website that contains the above information. Shanghai Tourism

3 comments:

Bruce said...

Beautiful garden in Shanghai, I don't think I visited that garden but we did go to one that was about an hour away that was very similar. I can't remember the name of the garden. Like you said even with thousands of people it is a very relaxing environment, that is part of the beauty of the gardens.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps you can find out where the Apple computers are assembled and post a picture? I know mine came from Shanghai, according to the FedEx shipping notice.

Anonymous said...

I love these pics, such a peaceful place, I could lay there and sleep all day!!!!!