So I finally did visit the old city and Yuyang garden. I had been planning this for a very long time. I spent the day with Penny, my mum’s colleague, and her wonderful daughter, Yuki. Penny had very sweetly insisted on taking me out to do a bit of sight seeing.
We started the day with a cloudy morning. It started drizzling soon after, which was good for us, as all the places we visited, usually over stuffed with people, were empty and maneuverable due to the rain.
We started with going to the heart of Shanghai. The beautiful old city has Chinese style architecture, which isn’t visible anywhere else since the city that has now been drowned in the wave of modernity. Yu Garden is situated here. It’s a peaceful maze of stone and greenery, dotted with ponds full of Koi and Goldfish with an occasional Turtle for good luck! People purchase fish food right outside the garden and can be seen feeding the fish at all possible openings.
It reminded me a lot of India. The delicate intricate carvings; the beauty created for the daughters of the royalty, so that they didn't have to go outside the walls of their homes; the long standing cultural connotations to everything- all resonated with India. Ofcourse the place was beautifully maintained. Something not seen very often in my country.
We started the day with a cloudy morning. It started drizzling soon after, which was good for us, as all the places we visited, usually over stuffed with people, were empty and maneuverable due to the rain.
We started with going to the heart of Shanghai. The beautiful old city has Chinese style architecture, which isn’t visible anywhere else since the city that has now been drowned in the wave of modernity. Yu Garden is situated here. It’s a peaceful maze of stone and greenery, dotted with ponds full of Koi and Goldfish with an occasional Turtle for good luck! People purchase fish food right outside the garden and can be seen feeding the fish at all possible openings.
It reminded me a lot of India. The delicate intricate carvings; the beauty created for the daughters of the royalty, so that they didn't have to go outside the walls of their homes; the long standing cultural connotations to everything- all resonated with India. Ofcourse the place was beautifully maintained. Something not seen very often in my country.
The Bund
Next, we headed to the Bund area. Its the shore of the river. There are two main sides of the bund. The Puxi side of Shanghai, and the Pudong side of Shanghai. Pudong is the rapidly developing and completely global side, whereas Puxi still retains old neighbourhoods and a largely traditional flavour.
To be able to really experience the Shanghai ferry, we travelled from Puxi to Pudong, and back. The setting sun gave us an opportunity to watch the cloudy skyscrapers turn into the glittering trophies that China boasts of!
We wrapped up the evening with a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant called 'G Waterfront'. A tiny bit disappointing to someone who eats Indian food at home, but impressive to anyone otherwise. What amused me the most was the first course that we started dinner with. Clam soup! Something I'm sure no Indian from any part of the country will recognize as native. So there, a tiny bit of Chinese Indian :P.
To be able to really experience the Shanghai ferry, we travelled from Puxi to Pudong, and back. The setting sun gave us an opportunity to watch the cloudy skyscrapers turn into the glittering trophies that China boasts of!
We wrapped up the evening with a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant called 'G Waterfront'. A tiny bit disappointing to someone who eats Indian food at home, but impressive to anyone otherwise. What amused me the most was the first course that we started dinner with. Clam soup! Something I'm sure no Indian from any part of the country will recognize as native. So there, a tiny bit of Chinese Indian :P.