China - February 15th

Today's trip was to the YuYuan Gardens that is located in thecenter of the Old City area. Ying wanted to travel by bus to see some of the changes that have taken place in Shanghai since her move to the States over 15 years ago. The buses fill fast and once the seats are full, more passengers pack into the aisle so you can end up with 50 people standing in the center aisle unable to move uin any direction. Luckily we were getting off at the last stop as much of the trip Jenny and I were isolated across the bus from the rest of our party of 10. As it was drizzling again several of us had taken umbrellas that later proved to be a Godsend! Once off the bus you were engulfed in the crowds of people that were celebrating the Chinese New Year holiday by visiting the area.

Yuyuan Gardens is considered one of the finest gardens in the area. It occupies 5 acres, and is divided into six general areas laid out in the Suzhou style: Grand Rockery - rockery made of huangshi stone, featuring peaks, cliffs, winding caves and gorges, the Heralding Spring Hall, the Inner Garden - rockeries, ponds, pavilions, and towers, first laid out in 1709, the Jade Magnificence Hall that is furnished with rosewood pieces from the Ming Dynasty, the Lotus Pool - with a zigzag bridge and mid-lake pavilion and the Ten Thousand-Flower Tower. Each of the garden areas are separated by "dragon walls" with undulating gray tiled ridges, each terminating in a dragon's head.

Once we were done viewing the garden we had lunch at one of the street vendors in the immediate area. I had pork that was barbecued on a stick while others had squid barbecued on a stick. Then it was off to a shopping area where all of us were able to find some souvenirs to take back home with us. Because the area was so crowded we used the umbrella as a guide by holding it up in the air so all 1o of us could keep track of each other. This worked well and was Leslie's idea!