2/17/2010 ? Yu Yuan Gardens

I have been to Portland Oregon’s Chinese garden and it was well done and beautiful. But nothing could prepare me for visiting the Yu Yuan Garden in Shanghai. Elena, Erin and I went to the old town with incredibly old classical Chinese architecture. The streets were very crowded. It was in this area that I really came to term with the meaning of China having over 1 billion citizens. We squeezed our way through the crowd passing souvenir shops and food stalls. We went into a place of food that looked good but it was some kind of cafeteria and we were at a complete loss of how to order, get food, and pay so we left and followed signs to a restaurant. However, to get to this restaurant we had a sea of people to cross. We formed a chain with each person holding onto the hood or backpack of the person in front of them. The person in the very front had to find space to squeeze through people and get into the current of people who were heading toward the restaurant. The rest of us followed. Letting go was not allowed, no matter who you may knock over. I almost bulldozed a very old lady, my comfort was that even had she lost her balance the crowd was so thick she would have bounced right back.

Erin, in the front, set her eyes on a man in a gray suit and just followed him all the way up into the restaurant. We were then put into a line of people waiting for tables and waited. Finally we were seated at a large table with a lazy-susan in the middle. Soon to join us was a family of four. Dim sum was being served for lunch and each of us ordered one or two dishes. The family ordered their own dishes. Except for eating at the same table everything was very separate. The food was delicious. The women sitting across from us amazed me at her skill with chopsticks as she effortlessly cut the dumplings and picked up bite size pieces to eat.

After the restaurant we resumed our chain and made our way over to a bridge that led to the Garden. With my free hand on my bag, and my other hand holding Erin’s hood, we squeezed through the crowd. My butt got a great work out from shuffling rapidly with the crowd. I never thought a group of people packed like sardines would be able to move at such a rapid pace. As we rounded corners the crowd would get even tighter (how that’s possible I do not know). It felt like moving through an hourglass. At first I would squeeze into the nonexistent space between people and then I would feel a shove as I popped out the other side. We made it across the bridge and bought our tickets for the garden.

In the garden we were in awe. Beautiful stone floors, walls with ornate wood work, still ponds, different shaped passages, and bamboo, flowers, plants and trees were all intricately placed together in a huge complex that balanced buildings, garden, and pathways. We meandered through taking in the wonderful tranquility inspired by our surroundings. At one point we could look over the garden and see the modern skyscrapers of the Pudong area peaking into the skyline. It the perfect contrast of old and new.

One of the buildings in the garden was a museum of Chinese paintings. We walked through, but I felt at a loss when I realized I was missing a vital part of the paintings. Each painting has a poem expressing the scene, insight, and beauty felt by the artist, which I was unable to read as it was in Chinese characters. The visual look of the poem was even a part of the paintings.

After the gardens we were tired and exhausted from being on guard and pushing through so many people. We decided to replenish ourselves with a little treat at a Hagendaz ice cream shop. It was amazing. Elena ordered some cake and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was served in a pot on a flame to keep it warm with a spoon made entirely of chocolate so when you stirred it, the chocolate got thick and wonderful. Erin got two flavors of ice cream in a little cup. I also go two flavors, a chocolate orange, and a passion fruit, mascarpone flavor that was absolutely amazing. We rested and continued to the ship. On the way back we stopped at a couple souvenir stores where I got a few fans.

Tired and exhausted we went back to the ship and watched the first Lord of the Rings Extended version. Between discs I packed for tomorrows adventure of heading to southern China.