Are you, like me, always confused about Yu Garden, Yu Garden Shopping Center, and the City God Temple? 😆 Little kids in Shanghai never seem to say “Yu Garden.” They only say going to the City God Temple to buy small commodities and going to the City God Temple to see the lanterns… In fact, the place where we go to see the lanterns is Yu Garden Shopping Center. Yu Garden – it is really a garden. You need to buy a ticket to enter. 🎫 It is right next to Yu Garden Shopping Center. The City God Temple – it is really a temple. You also need to buy a ticket to enter. 🎫 It is inside Yu Garden Shopping Center (📍The entrance is on Fangbang Middle Road.).
Shanghai City God Temple. Legend has it that it was built by Sun Hao, the monarch of the State of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, it was rebuilt into the City God Temple. It is one of the “three great temples along the Yangtze River” and a famous Taoist temple in Shanghai. It is a quiet place in the midst of bustling activity and a long-standing sacred place for praying.
The City God enshrined in the City God Temple mostly had real people in history. In ancient times, people regarded the City God as the protector of the city. Ordinary people hoped to be protected by him. Therefore, the City God was always held by some people who were loyal, public-spirited and upright. Many cities have City God Temples, basically enshrining one City God. But this place is very special: The City God Temple was rebuilt from the Jinshan Temple. It retains the original sea-defending god Huo Guang. The back hall enshrines Qin Yubo, the City God of Shanghai. In 1937, the people enshrined Chen Huacheng, a national hero of the Qing Dynasty, forming a unique pattern of “one temple with three City Gods”, as well as various deities such as Guanyin, the God of Wealth, and the Old Man under the Moon… So although it is small here, the incense is extremely prosperous. 🙏
When I went there, it was lunchtime. I just saw the vegetarian food in the City God Temple. I randomly ordered a bowl of Four Delights Bran Noodles (20 yuan), a bowl of Luohan Vegetarian Noodles (22 yuan), and two vegetable buns. It was surprisingly impressive! The soft and flavorful toppings are generous and sincere. Coupled with the chewy noodles. Among the vegetarian noodles I have eaten, Qibao Jiao Temple, which was originally ranked first, has now fallen to second place. 🤩
🧩Name: Shanghai City God Temple
📍Address: No. 249, Fangbang Middle Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
🈺️Opening hours: 08:30 – 16:30
💰Ticket price: 10 yuan.
2 yuan ferry, the most cost-effective way to experience the Bund. ✌️
Previously, I introduced the half-day artistic exhibition viewing route at the Bund (see the homepage for details). If you still feel it’s not exciting enough, then spend 2 yuan to take the cheapest cruise on the Huangpu River. 🚢 How about it? That day, after finishing seeing the exhibitions, I happened to pass by Jinling East Road Ferry Terminal. On a whim, after many years, I took the ferry again. Surprisingly, I still had the same excitement as when I took a ship for the first time as a child. 🤩 Strongly recommended to tourist friends visiting Shanghai.
Unexpectedly, the Shanghai ferry has been running silently on the Huangpu River since 1911 for 111 years! And now there are 17 routes. Among them, the most classic and most suitable one for sightseeing must be the “East Golden Route (Dongchang Road – Jinling East Road)”.
Jinling East Road Ferry Terminal. Next to it is the Bund sightseeing corridor where tourists are concentrated. Looking back, there are the buildings of various countries, and you can instantly get the modern style of the ten-mile foreign concessions. Boarding from here, you can enjoy the Oriental Pearl Tower and the three major landmarks of Shanghai. After disembarking at Dongchang Road Ferry Terminal, there is a trestle nearby. It is recommended to take a walk on it. From there, you can quietly enjoy the scenery on the other side. This is also the dock closest to Lujiazui. Then you can take the boat back on the same route and enjoy the scenery of the Bund. In this way, the scenery on both sides of Pudong and Puxi can be seen at a glance. Although the time is short, just about ten minutes, but compared with those hundreds of yuan Huangpu River cruises, isn’t the cost performance much higher? 😌
💁🏻♀️Tips for the East Golden Route:
✅Time: 07:15 – 18:30 (see Picture 9). From December 31, 2022 to January 2, 2023, there will be a temporary suspension of service from 12:00 to 18:30 every day.
✅Ticket purchase: All payment methods are okay. You can use the Shanghai public transportation card.
✅Ticket price: 2 yuan/person.
✅After boarding, rush directly to the second deck. The sightseeing positions are gone if you are slow.
✅Since I boarded the ship on a whim, I missed the most beautiful scenery at sunset. It is recommended to check the sunset time before departure. The sunset scenery of the Bund viewed from Pudong is extremely beautiful. Of course, you can also choose to wait until six o’clock when the lights are turned on. Then it is another kind of resplendent beauty.
New ways to play in Shanghai | Real experience review of Suzhou Creek water route⛴️
As a native of Shanghai, I am very happy to see the news that Suzhou Creek has launched a new project of “water route” since December 15. Having experienced cruises on the Seine River in Paris, the Thames River in London and the Hudson River in New York, this time I am looking forward to experiencing a cruise on Suzhou Creek in Shanghai. I booked an “outer Bund source loop line” (30 minutes). Let me talk about my experience👇
💁🏻♀️Overall evaluation
If a perfect score is 100 points, I would give it 80 points.
The starting point of this project is good. Through the water route, it awakens urban memories and allows people to feel the changes in urban development. However,
🔺Originally, I wanted to take pictures of the night view on the ship, but the closed cabin of the “Time-Space Shuttle” has extremely serious reflection. Coupled with an ultra-bright LED screen (there will be animations introducing some scenic spots), it is basically impossible to take pictures.
💁🏻♀️Personal suggestions
✅Two types of ships: The “Shanghai Impression” small cruise ship replicates the shape of the Shanghai brand car and is designed with an open convertible top, which is suitable for taking pictures 📸 but may be cold 🥶; The “Time-Space Shuttle” medium-sized cruise ship is fully enclosed and equipped with panoramic glass. It is not suitable for taking pictures but is not cold. So, dear friends, you can weigh and decide which one you prefer. For those with kids, the latter is recommended. For photography enthusiasts, definitely wear more and choose the former.
✅There are four docks and multiple routes. They are the Waitanyuan Dock, the Sihang Warehouse Dock, the Changhua Road Dock, and the Changfeng Park Dock. I don’t recommend this Waitanyuan loop line very much (at least not recommended to take it at night). If you want to see the night view, it’s better to go directly to the nearby Fashi Bridge. Or it is recommended to take it during the day. Looking at the routes, the longest one (appearing to have the highest cost performance) is from the Sihang Warehouse to Changfeng Park, which takes 75 minutes in total (100 yuan). When the weather gets warmer, I decide to take the “Shanghai Impression” and give it a try.
🧩Name: “Leisurely Cruise on Suzhou Creek” water route
💰Ticket price: 60 yuan and 100 yuan for adults. Children aged 7-14 are half price. Children under 6 are free 🆓. Free tickets also need to be reserved.
💡Reminder: Reservation for “Leisurely Cruise on Suzhou Creek”. When purchasing tickets, it is reminded to bring an ID card. In fact, the ID card is not checked on site. It is recommended to take a photo or have an electronic ID card ready.
The cats in Jing’an Sculpture Park are more attractive than ginkgo trees. 🤩
Finally, it’s sunny in Shanghai. 🇨🇳🌞 Seize the time to see the ginkgo trees. After all, there is not much time left for the leaves. Maybe the next rain will come at any time… As a patient with terminal laziness, if you can see the same or a “substitute” in the urban area, you will not consider going a long way to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the suburbs.
Today I went to Jing’an Sculpture Park. It is the only special sculpture park in the city center with sculptures as the theme and a modern garden style. The park takes the flowing exhibition corridor as the main line and connects six landscape spaces such as the central square landscape area, the magnolia petal landscape area, and the plum garden landscape area. Sculptures with different creative ideas are placed in various landscape areas of the park, which are very distinctive. Coupled with the magnificent Natural History Museum, the whole park is still quite photogenic. BUT recently, the area in front of the Natural History Museum is being plowed (cutely, those bronze bull sculptures next to it seem as if they plowed the soil as if they were pulling a plow 😂). To a certain extent, it somewhat affects the overall effect.
Here, what attracts me more than ginkgo trees are the freely roaming cats 🐱 who seem to be “in charge”. They are not at all shy. One by one, they look content and comfortable. It seems that kind-hearted people usually feed them well. When you squat down, they come over to see what delicious food you have brought. If there is nothing, they mutter a few times and turn away. I really like the little white cat in the plum garden. It is really good-looking. It will also act coquettishly with the yellow cat beside it 😌. It’s really an unexpected display of affection.
🚶Surrounding areas to visit:
▫️Shanghai Natural History Museum
▫️Wall paintings on Shanguan Road
▫️One Museum Place
▫️Former site of the Secretariat of the Labour Union and others.
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🧩Name: Jing’an Sculpture Park
📍Address: No. 128, Shimen No. 2 Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai
🚇Transportation: Natural History Museum Station on Metro Line 13
💰Ticket price: Free 🆓
Real exploration of the popular Jumen Road | Ginkgo trees are beautiful, but personal safety is more important.
Recently, I have seen many ginkgo trees on Jumen Road on the Internet. Yesterday, I was once again mentioned by netizens. So I took time out of my schedule to take some photos (taken at 3 pm on December 13, 2022).
📷Important reminder:
Be sure to bring a telephoto lens‼️ There are so many people taking pictures. There are at least a dozen people carrying cameras on one road. Coupled with an endless stream of photographers and those being photographed, as well as the passing traffic… The background is very messy. The compression sense of a telephoto lens will be better (my 24-70 lens shows helplessness 😩 I did my best). For those using mobile phones, it doesn’t matter. 😊
💁🏻♀️To be honest:
With my poor skills, I can’t directly use the original image. I adjusted it later by brightening it and increasing the saturation. 😌. But in any case, the ginkgo trees here are more beautiful than those on Golden Avenue. The beauty lies in that the ginkgo trees here are uniformly yellow and have a strong sense of teamwork (the ginkgo trees on Golden Avenue are half yellow and half green and uneven). The beauty also lies in the small spacing between the trees, which makes them look dense and easy to take good pictures.
It is recommended to avoid rush hours. Walk back and forth on this short road several times and choose a suitable shooting position. Because I was in a hurry, I only took pictures for twenty minutes. You can refer to the third floor of the creative park and the Nanyuan Binjiang Green Space recommended by other bloggers.
The Jing’an Temple, the top of the four famous temples in Shanghai.
Known as the top of the four famous temples in Shanghai, Jing’an Temple has a history of more than 1,760 years. As early as during the period when the Sun Wu regime of the Three Kingdoms ruled the south of the Yangtze River, Jing’an Temple was located on the current Suzhou River. At that time, it was called Hudu Chongxuan Temple. In the Song Dynasty, it was renamed Jing’an Temple and moved to its current location. Outside the temple is a bustling city with heavy traffic. Inside the temple is silent and solemn with prosperous incense. 🎐 The millennium-old temple made of billions of yuan worth of gold is in the same frame as the modern city, which is very unique.
It’s November. The ancient ginkgo trees in Jing’an Temple should also gradually turn yellow. The photo was taken at the end of November last year. At that time, most of the leaves had already fallen, and only a few stronger ones were still left on the branches. 🤣 Therefore, it is recommended that everyone keep an eye on it. The most beautiful moment is coming soon! ‼️ The golden ancient temple, with the blessing of golden ginkgo trees, is really beautiful in every picture
👀Besides gold and ginkgo trees, what else is there to see?
✅ Jing’an Pagoda cast in bronze and covered with gold on the surface.
✅ The large incense burner in the center of the temple cast in 15 tons of white copper.
✅ The 180-ton Ashoka pillar engraved with “The Right Dharma Endures Forever” at the temple entrance.
✅ The 15-ton statue of Sakyamuni cast in pure silver in the Mahavira Hall.
✅ The thousand-year-old camphor wood Guanyin statue carved from a single piece of wood.
🌿Place name: Jing’an Temple
📍Address: No. 1686 West Nanjing Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai
🚇Transportation: Exit 1 of Jing’an Temple Station on Metro Lines 2/7
🈺️Opening hours: 07:30 – 17:00
💰Ticket price: 50 yuan (scan the code at the entrance to pay)
💡Reminder: Please do not take pictures of the Buddha statues or the pilgrims.
At the end of ginkgo season in Shanghai | Real exploration of popular photo spots.
Entering the real Yu Garden | Unparalleled beauty in Jiangnan.
Are you, like me, always confused about Yu Garden, Yu Garden Market, and the City God Temple? 😆 It seems that Shanghai natives never say “Yu Garden”. They only say going to the City God Temple to buy small commodities and going to the City God Temple to see the lanterns… In fact, the City God Temple is really a temple, located inside the Yu Garden Market. And Yu Garden – is really a garden, located next to the Yu Garden Market
Yu Garden was built in 1559 during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. It is the only well-preserved Jiangnan Suzhou-style garden in downtown Shanghai. It used to be the private garden of Pan Yunduan, the administrative commissioner of Sichuan. It took more than twenty years to complete. Because “Yu” has the meanings of “peace” and “tranquility”, it is named “Yu Garden”.
The day I went there was during the National Day holiday. Moreover, there was a heat wave of 35 degrees Celsius that seemed like a last gasp. 🥵 It took nearly 20 minutes just to line up at the entrance to enter the garden. They were all tourists who came here because of its reputation. At first, I was still complaining about queuing up in the sun being so tiring. But when I walked into the garden, I was immediately cured by the beautiful scenery in front of me. 🤩 Of course, compared with several major gardens in Suzhou, there is still a little distance. And when I went there, there were still a few areas that were surrounded and under renovation, which is a little pity
The pavilions in the garden are unevenly distributed, the lake is shimmering, and it is secluded and beautiful (except that there are really too many people). It is divided into six scenic areas: Sansui Hall, Wanhualou, Dianchun Hall, Huijing Tower, Yuhua Hall and Inner Garden. Each scenic area has its own characteristics. The main scenic spots include the Big Rockery, Jade Exquisite, Dianchun Hall, Deyue Tower, Ancient Opera Stage and so on.
🧩Name: Yu Garden
📍Address: No. 168 Fuyou Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
🈺️Opening hours: 09:00 – 16:30 (closed on Mondays)
💰Ticket price: 40 yuan
If you go to play at the Shanghai Zoo or are just in the area of Hami Road, you can conveniently go to Zhongxinjing Park to see this legendary “Little Hongcun in Shanghai” (after all, it is just a small community park. If you go there especially from a long distance because of its reputation, you may feel that it is lower than your expectations 😌). However, residents living nearby really like this place. People can take their children for a walk, do fitness exercises, enjoy the scenery and take pictures as they wish.
👀Highlights
✅In the park, there is a group of Hui-style architecture with white walls and black tiles. It definitely gives a feeling of a Shanghai branch of Hongcun. 🤪 Even the public toilets 🚾 are of the same style. It can be said to be very in place. 👏🏻. In addition, there is a pond, and the reflected images taken are very beautiful. Although there is a “ginkgo avenue” in the park, in fact, there are not many ginkgo trees. It just feels like a few sparsely distributed ones are “participating for the sake of it”. 😂 During cherry blossom season, there are also cherry blossoms 🌸 here.
✅ As soon as you enter through the main entrance, you can see a large circular building in the shape of a lotus flower. There are sundries piled up inside the building, but the exterior is of good appearance.
✅ In addition to being able to enjoy the ancient and charming Hui-style scenery, there is also a Fahua Zen Temple in the park. It is said to be known as the “second Jing’an Temple in Shanghai” (but compared with that glittering Jing’an Temple, it is still too low-key. Amitabha).
✅Walking along the small river to another exit, you will find Xiyantang, the first church designed by architect Laszlo Hudec for Shanghai. It is also the unique Byzantine-style Catholic church in Shanghai. Architecture enthusiasts can go and have a look. However, it is not open to the public. You can admire the exterior. Through the railing, you can see part of the scenery on the square inside. Coming here once and seeing three buildings with very different styles can also be considered a worthwhile trip. ✌🏻️
🌿Name: Zhongxinjing Park
📍Address: Intersection of Songhong Road and Hami Road, Changning District
🚌Transportation: Beixinjing Station on Line 2; Shanghai Zoo Station on Line 10
🎟️Ticket price: Free 🆓
Designed by Hudec | The only Byzantine-style Catholic church in Shanghai
Xiyantang was built in 1929. It is the first church designed by the famous architect Laszlo Hudec for Shanghai. Its full name is “Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel in Xiyen Cemetery”. It is quietly hidden at the intersection of Hami Road and Kele Road in Changning District.
The entire church is very small, with a construction area of only 239 square meters. It is a typical Byzantine-style building and also the only Byzantine-style Catholic church in Shanghai ⛪.
The circular roof of the church is wavy in shape and covered with copper plates. After years of oxidation, the surface presents a unique copper-green color. The plan is in the shape of a regular cross. The central hall is directly connected to the semicircular altar facing the river on the south side. The pumpkin-shaped dome surrounded by 14 pointed arch windows presents a curved shape like stars surrounding the moon. The exterior walls of the church and the bell tower are painted with fish-scale patterns in khaki cement mortar.
To add: Another church designed by Hudec for Shanghai is called “Moone Church”. It is located in the luxurious People’s Square. The public can enter and visit by making an appointment (but taking photos inside the church is not allowed).
🚶Surroundings to visit:
✅Zhongxinjing Park (known as “Little Hongcun in Shanghai”).
✅Fuyuan Zen Temple.
✅Shanghai Zoo.
🧩Name: Xiyantang
📍Address: No. 17, Kele Road
🈺️Opening hours: Mass times are 07:00 on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday; 19:00 on Saturday; and 08:00 on Sunday.
This niche place is surprisingly photogenic. | Jinting Manor
In Shanghai, there are many free places where you can take good pictures. However, there are not many places that are free, photogenic, where you can have afternoon tea and pet small animals, right? Let’s take a look at Jinting Manor. 👉 This castle-like manor hotel integrating lakes, lawns, forests, and villas can be entered for free 🆓 even if you don’t stay. Just show your health code at the entrance. Weakly speaking, there is also an HS sampling point at the main entrance. Before taking pictures, take a test. We are fresh people again. 😆
🔆Highlights:
✅The white carousel at the entrance instantly opens up the dream of a young girl.
✅A small zoo with two alpacas 🦙, one white horse, one proud blue peacock 🦚 and one aloof white peacock, and a flock of white pigeons. Despite the small number, these little animals are enough to take preschool children for a walk. Neither adults nor children will be tired. 😌 The children will still have a great time.
✅Passing by the wishing station and a giant birdcage, and walking to the end, you can see a group of blue and white buildings. Experts can take great photos that make it seem like “pretending to be in Santorini”. (💡Reminder: It just looks similar from a distance. When you get close, it’s not so good-looking. It still depends on post-processing.)
✅There is a fairly large horse ranch. Occasionally, you can see knights riding horses 🐎 passing by.
💁🏻♀️Reminder again:
This place is not at a level where you will regret missing it. Of course, in terms of scenery, it cannot be compared with large parks. The facilities and equipment inside are also a bit old. However, as a free green space adjacent to residential areas, it is very popular among nearby residents. 👏 Friends who live far away don’t need to go there specially.
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🧩Name: Jinting Manor
📍Address: No. 1 Xiehe Road, Changning District, Shanghai
🚇Transportation: Take bus No. 88 to the terminal station of Xinjing Road.
What is Guilin Park like without osmanthus flowers?
On October 9, 2022, looking at the beautiful photos of osmanthus flowers taken by friends in Guilin Park a few days ago, I quickly took my camera to take pictures during the flowering period. As a result… I was still one step too late. The early blooming osmanthus flowers have all fallen. 😭. Among nearly 1,000 osmanthus trees of more than 20 varieties such as golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, orange osmanthus, and four-season osmanthus, I only saw dozens of fallen flowers on the ground (cracking.jpg). BUT, it is said that the succeeding osmanthus flowers are blooming one after another recently. Friends, hurry up and go. If you are slow, there will be none left. 🥲～
Since we can’t see the osmanthus flowers, let’s quietly appreciate this private garden in the city center. Guilin Park, built in 1931, is also known as “Huangjia Garden”. Its predecessor was the private residence of Huang Jinrong, a legendary figure of the Green Gang in Shanghai. It is now more than ninety years old. It is said that after renovation, it has just reopened recently. Therefore, the park is full of tourists. After all, even without osmanthus flowers, the garden scenery here is still uniquely elegant and beautiful.
With the unique charm of a classical Jiangnan garden, the buildings in the park exude an antique air. Pavilions, terraces, towers, small bridges over flowing water, and winding paths leading to secluded spots. The Four Teachings Hall, the Eight Immortals Terrace, the Mandarin Duck Tower, the Guanyin Pavilion, the Prajna Boat, and the Feixiang Hall… Everywhere is a beautiful sight. Certainly, if the garden is filled with osmanthus flowers and their fragrance, it would be even more perfect. Once again, dear friends, osmanthus flowers don’t wait. 😩
🧩Name: Guilin Park
📍Address: No. 128 Guilin Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
🚇Transportation: Guilin Park Station on Metro Lines 12/15
🈺️Opening hours: 07:00 – 19:30.
I declare that the most beautiful “maple” scenery 🍁 in downtown Shanghai is here.
Recently, I’ve seen many beautiful photos of maple leaves in Yanchong Greenland on the Internet. I’m really attracted by them. As a chosen worker, I resolutely go to see it on my rest day.
