Shanghai Old Street
Shanghai Old Street is old. Really old. Apparently. But I reckon all of that wood has been replaced a fair few times. If you really want to experience large crowds that don't know where they are going (and to be fair, you'd probably be one of them, like we were) then this is the place to go. Lots of shops to buy cheap (and not so cheap) tack, street artists and some cool wood carvings are all around you. We popped into a tea shop, no sorry, the tea shop in the middle of it all. Looks like a boat on the inside, and I really liked the bloke with the puppet theatre, hitting his drums and bells, citing his repertoire whilst kids looked through the viewing glasses. |
Chenghuang Miao - Temple of the Town Gods
The first of the temples - and the only one in Shanghai that we visited (the others being in Pu Tuo Shan). The Taoist temple of Chenghuang Miao (Temple of the Town Gods) dates back to the Ming dynasty. The vases may give that away. This one is tucked away in the hustling tourist trap of Shanghai Old Street. Fortunately the modest price of 10 Yuan calms the flow of people who enter but those that do burn so much incense that its insane. Check out those statues and wallpaper backdrop! Oh and if you think I'm knowledgeable, I'm not. I looked it up afterwards! |
Yuyuan Gardens
No open fields and neatly cropped stately avenues here... Yuyuan gardens is wedged into the city and contains many traditional buildings wedged between water features, walls and dragons. Each rooftop had its own set of statue sculptures - you needed to look up as well as down! The gardens are a mix of greenery and wood. Despite being in the middle of Shanghai, the area is mostly quiet - the modest entry fee again seems to disuade many from entering.
Each building,whether hall, tower or temple, was set out differently - I loved the wooden furniture and dragon... We were not allowed in any apart from the Tea House, where tea was offered and served in traditional style - and very similar to that of Korea.
... and I learned why Black tea should be served with boiling water whereas Green tea should not. Its all a question of fermentation. Although the tea was free - and welcome - I ended up buying some tea cups. Finally I can drink my O'sulloc green tea (poor excuse I know) |
I wanted to try and link the photos to the buildings and area of the park, but frankly its impossible with this map!
I had the pleasure of discovering Shanghai with Claudia. I thought that I'd group the photos of us here :-)
|