Shanghai is the fastest developing city in China & today went on a sightseeing tour of the city.
Exploring Shanghai.
We set off from our hotel at around 9 am for our guided tour around Shanghai with a local coach company.
Jade Buddha Temple.
The Jade Buddha temple was very busy on the day we went, as it was a religious holiday. There were many Chinese people praying, burning incense & asking for whatever it was they thought the Buddha could provide for them. I found the commercialism of some of the temples we had visited very disappointing. I know they have to make money to operate, but the people that were visiting were being offered incense to buy & burn, & large wax lotus flowers to place on a bonfire in what appeared to be no more than a large oil drum.
The charge to enter, I think, is okay, but when one of our party turned the wrong way & found he had walked through the exit by mistake, he was charged to come back in even after showing his entry ticket.
The Buddha here was impressive. The reclining Buddha was good, but I did like one of the Jade Buddhas that sits with many hands raised in different positions behind it. The Jade Buddha here was imported from Burma in 1882 & was rescued when the temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. They were placed in the rebuilt temple in 1928.
Photos of the Jade Buddha Temple.
Yuyuan Gardens.
The Yuyuan Gardens were very beautiful, tranquil & well worth a visit. I could have spent a lot more time here just relaxing in the gardens. Some of the Bonsai trees here were really nice & I found the quietness of the place really amazing, given its position in the centre of Shanghai.
We were told all about the history of the gardens, which are split into six areas & now cover around 2 hectares of land. The Sansui Hall contains a large rockery, the Wanhua Hall, the Dianchuan Hall, the Huijing Hall, the Yuhua Hall & the inner gardens, which contain rockeries, gardens, ponds & towers. Each section is divided by an amazing dragon. The wall looks great when you look at it with the modern backdrop of Shanghai tower blocks reaching skywards above it.
About Yuyuan Gardens.
Yuyuan Garden was first built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty by Pan Yunduan as a comfort for his father, the minister Pan En, in his old age. He named the garden Yu Yuan, meaning "pleasing & satisfying to one's parents." His motivation to build the garden was to show love & respect to his parents & for them to enjoy it in their old age. Thus, Yu Garden is also known as the "Garden of Peace & Comfort".
Shanghai Acrobat Show.
This evening, after dinner, we went to see an acrobat show. The show was split up between single acrobats & groups of acrobats performing fantastic acrobatic tricks. The strength, balance & power of the acrobats were amazing, as was the bravery of the people who were catapulted to the top of a human tower that was formed during the show.
Even the tumblers were impressive as they performed tumbles at different heights & through moving objects. When they combined with 4 or 5 other tumblers all performing at the same time, it was really impressive.