Ah, pardon me. I sort of lost steam in posting about the trip to China so I reckon I better get started once again before my memory fails me.
Yu Garden is another famous touristy places. There will be ample of signs to show you the direction towards the garden from the Yuyuan Garden subway stop.
The whole area feel has a little preservation of the ancient Chinese city sort of architecture, with tea houses and gold-plated name of the garden at the gate.
The entrance fee to the park is around CNY40. At the entrance, you'll be greeted with lots of little stalls selling souvenirs and beverages especially on a hot summer day.
Yu Garden is basically a classical garden that has been somewhat touched-up in its 400 years of existence. This was a private garden that belongs to the Pan family, who was a scholar in the olden days.
Thus, it is of no mistake if you see pavilions after pavilions in this garden, just like the ancient Chinese dramas. You could even get to dress in one of the ancient attires and grab a photo opportunity to act like a scholar in the garden for a small fees.
In addition, you would also find the chambers, courtyards and various arches and corridors to give you a glimpse of what life is like in the past. Just like many of the tourist attractions, the majority of the exhibits are explained in Chinese language but you could follow a tour group to get a better explanation of the garden if you want.
As the Yu Garden area is a tourist attraction, therefore it should come as no surprise that the place is jam-packed especially on public holidays and weekends. For foreigners, if you do not find the local delicacies suitable, you can easily find Starbucks in this area as well as some other more common snacks. If you're fortunate enough, you could also catch a traditional dance performance at the square.
Now, if you've looked at the first photo closely, you would realise that there's a place called the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant on the top left corner. Shanghai is famed for its steamed buns and this particular restaurant in Yu Garden is probably the ones that tourist usually flock to. I wouldn't say it's awesome but after a tiring day at the garden, it may not be a bad idea to sit and rest while you have a meal of steamed buns. We also tried their specialty, which is the super-sized soup dumpling, 灌汤包. The idea is to basically drink from the dumpling and not eat it. The skin is very floury, so I wouldn't recommend you to do it as well. If you're looking for an experience, you could order a some xiao long bao, 小龙包 to go with it but I wouldn't recommend ordering a heavy lunch because it is generally more expensive.
At the square, you could also see some water features and some ducks and ducklings swimming. Tea houses, souvenir shops, eateries, coffee places are all available in those red buildings around the area.
And finally here's a map of the area. The garden on the top right corner but there are many other little stops to explore as well if you've the time!
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