Yu Yuan and Huangpu
Trip Start
Aug 14, 2011
1
13
14
Trip End
Aug 27, 2011
Shanghai, Shanghai, China
Friday, August 26, 2011
We didn't want a huge (expensive) breakfast so we walked a few yards to Fuxin Park and bought some croissants and fruit juice. We had a lovely walk around the park watching the Tai Chi, a couple practising ballroom dancing and a group playing with those circus shapes. One man had a spinner on top of 5 poles (I was impressed but Steve wasn't). We went through the rose garden past the pond (free zorbing) and out the far end. We tried to find Steve's work branch office but failed. The weather was much nicer than they said so we took the metro straight to the Bund. We found the ticket office for river cruises. We bought a cruise along the Huangpu river into the Yangtse and went to have a nice jasmine tea while we waited.
The cruise was very pleasant down the river looking at all the tall buildings. When it finished we went back over to YuYuan but this time we sneakily followed a tour group so we could get to the proper gardens (after we walked around everywhere else) and the Temple of the City God.
The gardens were lovely- like an oasis in the city with nooks and crannies, secret caves and hidden courtyards, bridges over ponds teeming with fish. It was like a spiral of interesting gardens go in and a bit confusing. We did find our way out (hooray) and went for a drink before heading back (getting a bit lost).
After a nice Jacuzzi we went out to find dinner and after a long wander found a nice (hidden) Italian- we had pasta and pizza- a nice change, then had to go back to pack.
A note on the Five Dynasties/ Ten States Periods
When the general Zhu Wen Quanzhong stole the throne from the last Tang Emperor, Ai (whom he later killed in 908 AD)- see my note on the Tang (20 Aug) he made himself Emperor Taizu (907-912), starting the Later Liang Dynasty which controlled northern China only. He was murdered by his son Zhu Yougui 912-3, who was subsequently murdered by his brother Zhu Youzhen (Emperor Modi) 913 -923. Areas controlled by Taizu were quickly lost under his sons to a variety of jiedushi (the prefects/ governors system set up by the Tang similar to the feudal ideas of fealty; but increasingly establishing themselves as princes or would-be emperors such as Emperor Liu Shouguang of Yan (Beijing area) or Prince Wang Rong of Zhou.)
In the area of Shaanxi, the State of Jin opposed the Later Liang from the start. Prince Li Keyong, then his son, Li Cunxu expanded into Later Liang territory, helped by the increasingly powerful Turkish Khitan (Shatuo) tribe (see my note on Khitan Dynasty). In 923 Li Cunxu defeated the Liang Emperor Modi and made himself Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later or Restored Tang. He died in 926 and was succeeded by his adopted Turkish son Emperor Mingzong 926-33. His son Emperor Min lasted 1 year before being defeated by his brother Emperor Modi (or Mo) 934-7. Relations with the Khitan deteriorated and in 937 Shi Jingtang (a Shatuo Turk blood relative of Emperor Mingzhong) seized the throne as Emperor Gaozu 936-942 of the Later Jin. His adopted son, Emperor Chudi 942-7 attempted (but failed) to take on the emerging Khitan Liao Dynasty which went on to take most of China. A small breakaway region became the State of Later Shu.
However, the Khitan Empire retreated back to their homelands, giving Liu Zhiyuan (also a Shatuo Turk) the opportunity to declare himself Emperor Gaozu 947-48 of the Later Han. His young son, Empeor Yindi 948-51 was unable to hold out against Guo Wei (a Han Chinese) who became Emperor Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty. What was left of the Later Han moved north to establish a small independent area known as the Northern or Eastern Han which lasted until 979.
Emperor Taizu died in 954 leaving his adopted son as Emperor Shizong. He died young (959) and his young son Gongdi soon had the throne taken from him 960 by Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty.
With the reconquest of Northern Han the Song Dynasty 960-1279 had retaken all of China.
During this period various "dynasties"- short lived- were established in southern areas (apart from Northern Han in the north) of China- often called the Ten States or Kingdoms. Most of them were founded by breakaway jiedushi and included Southern Wu (902-37), Wu Yue (907-78), Former Shu (907-925), Min (909-45), Southern Han (917-71), Southern Ping (924-63), Southern Chu (927-51), Later Shu (934-65), Southern Tang (937-75) and Northern Han (951-79). Many styles themselves King and some even had imperial legitimacy. They all operated their own affairs and were basically autonomous until they were retaken by the Later Tang or the Song. During the period of independence they prospered and were little involved with affairs to the north.
A note on the Song Dynasty 960-1279 (split into Northern Song 960-1127 and Southern Liu Song 1127-1279)
When Zhao Kuangyin forced the last Later Zhou Emperor to abdicate, he founded the Song Dynasty as Emperor Taizu 960-976 and along with his brother successor Emperor Taizong 976-97 reunified much of inner and southern China whilst the Khitan Liao controlled the North . Taizong's son Emperor Zhenzong 997-1022 strengthened central control, but the Liao (Khitan) Dynasty 916-1125 in the North forced a humiliating treaty of Shanyuan, in which the Song acknowledge the Liao as their superiors and pay tribute. The Western Xia (Xi Xia) Dynasty 1038-1227 held a large western area of China. All three Dynasties existed more or less contemporaneously. Emperor Renzong 1022-63 and his relative Emperor Yingzong 1063-67 achieved little other than holding their own. Emperor Shenzong 1067-85 attempted to control Western Xia but it ended with a stalemate. He appointed Wang AnShi to reform social policies, but these were undone by his successor Emperor Zhezong 1085-1100 and chancellor SimaGuang. His brother Emperor Huizong 1100-25 was more interested in religion and art than politics. When the Manchurian Jurchens attacked Liao, Emperor Huizong originally used the opportunity to ally with the Jurchens to annul the Treaty of Shanyuan. Although the Liao Dynasty fell in 1125, the Jurchen set themselves up as the Jin Dynasty (see note) and started marching towards Song territory. Huizong, panicking, abdicated in favour of his young son, Emperor Qinzong 1126/7 but the Jin defeated the Song army and reduced Huizong and Qinzong to commoners.
Another son of Huizong fled south as Emperor Gaozong 1127-62, forming the rump of a Song area, the Southern Song. Surprisingly the Southern Song outlived the Jin Dynasty and were finally defeated by the Yuan Dynasty (who had defeated the Jin in the north- see note). The Southern Song was ruled by a series of uninteresting rulers Xiaozong 1162-89, Guangzong 1189-94, Ningzong 1194-1224, Lizong 1224-64, Duzong 1264-74, Gongdi 1275/6 (abdicated to older brother), Duanzong 1276-8. His son Emperor Dong was only 5 when his mother surrendered him to the attacking Yuan forces. The remaining Song forces crowned an older (9 years old) brother as Emperor Duanzong but he drowned, then the last Emperor (another young brother) Huaizong was crowned but when it looked hopeless leapt into the sea and drowned (sad!). The end of the Song!
The Liao Dynasty
The dynasty was a Khitan Dynasty in northern China. They seized "The Sixteen Provinces" and were constantly interfering in Chinese affairs until they established their own dynasty in north China (with the Song Dynasty holding the south and the Xi Xia Dynasty the west). At first the dynasty ruled outside China (it was established by Liao Taizu in 916 who proclaimed himself Emperor) with Taizu 916-26, Taizong 926-47 becoming involved in various Khitan states (Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han) but until 942 had not claimed China as theirs . In 942 they took the Han Dynasty and established their own Liao Dynasty.
The next Emperor, Shizong 947-51 was unpopular and murdered in a coup and his successor Muzong 951-69 was so bad his own servants killed him! Emperor Jingzong 969-982 began the fight against the Song in the south which ended when his successor Shengzong 983-1031 forced the Song to pay tribute to the Liao as their overlords in the Treaty of Shanyuan. After this a series of ineffective rulers, Xingzong 1031-55, Daozong 1055-1101 and Tianzuo 1101-1125 saw the decline of Liao power ending with their defeat by the Jin army.
Western Xia 1038-1227
The Dynasty is not well known as the succeeding Yuan Dynasty destroyed many of the records. It co-existed in the inner Mongolia area alongside the Song and Liao Dynasties. A strong founder, Emperor Jingzong 1038-48 established the kingdom by successfully defending it against the Song. His successor Yizong 1048-67 made treaties with the Song and Liao as a vassal state. His successor Huizong 1067-86 (poss murdered) and was followed by Chonzong 1086-1139, then Renzong 1139-93 both of whom held the kingdom against external threats. Huangzong 1193-1206, Xiangzong 1206-11, Shenzong 1211-23 had short and uninteresting rules. Emperor Xianzong 1223-6 decided to ally with the Jin against the Liao. His son, Modi or Mozhu 1226/7 was defeated and the kingdom ended by a increasingly powerful force of Mongol tribes led by a new leader- Genghis Khan.
Note on the Jin (Jurchen) Dynasty 1115-1234
The dynasty was founded by the Nuzhen tribe leader, who proclaimed himself Emperor Taizu 1115-23. His brother, Emperor Taizong 1123-34 defeated the Liao and the Song Dynasties, unifying much of China and making Western Xia a vassal state. Empero Xizong 1135-49 was killed by a relative who became Emperor Hailinhwang 1149-61. His attempts to defeat the Southern Song ended in failure and he was killed by an officer who proclaimed his cousin as Emperor Shizong 1161-89 who tried but failed to restore "Jurchen values" to the increasingly sinicised population. His son, Zhangzong 1190-1208 continued this, forbidding Chinese clothes and insisting on kowtowing. The next Emperor Weishaowang 1209-13 was ineffective and the Yuan Mongols started to become a more worrying threat. He was assassinated and replaced by Xuanzong 1213-23. The next Emperor Aizong 1224-34 was an able reformer but unable to prevent the mongol invasion. He abdicated and committed suicide. His successor, a general, Modi lasted less than 1 day before he was murdered by the Yuan army and the Dynasty finished.
26th Shanghai
A pleasure to wake up in the hotel! We helped ourselves to coffee & snacks, then headed out towards nearby Fuxin (Fuxing) park (2 mins). We grabbed some OJ and croissants and sat in the sunny park to eat them. The park has had several names over its life, from French Gu Park, Japanese Daxing Park and Chinese Fuxing (or Fuxian) which means French. It is a French meets Chinese park with beautiful French style flowerbeds and Chinese style grottos and pools. A very happy mixture. We watched the lovely dancing, singing and tai-chi on the main path as well as a lone ballroom dancer whilst we ate. Then we headed into the main park, past the huge bronzes of Marx and Engles (surprisingly we saw very few statues in China). We passed the central lake with its water zorbing on it, through the flower gardens and grottoes, onto the open lawn where people were practicing circus style skills- I thought the man balancing 4 or 5 poles on top of each other was really good, though Steve was fascinated by the roller-thingy practicing. Through the pavilions and back towards the metro. We tried really hard to find Steve's company’s branch office which we knew was close, but failed dismally, so set off back to the Bund. It was a lovely sunny day and I wanted to see all the lovely historic buildings. (Shanghai weather tends to be hot + humid with thunderstorms in summer and cold + wet / windy in winter as Siberian winds come down, even bringing snow for a few days each year).
When we got there we noticed an advert for river cruises. Neither of us fancied a cut-down Yangtze cruise (we plan to do this properly some other time), but the shorter Huangpu cruise looked attractive and quite well priced, so we bought two tickets and headed towards the pier. As we had a bit of time we called in to one of the under-levee tea houses and had some lovely flower teas.
Then we went to the pier and took the cruise- we sat outside on the top for the best view, but most people stayed below deck surprisingly. It was an excellent way to see the river and the banks. We headed down the Pudong side towards the cruise ports and shipping areas, then back up on the Puxi side. It was very interesting to see the contrast between the modern, skyscraper side with the older, historic side. Some skyscrapers were quite odd- the doubler with inwards curved faces in particular.
After getting off I wanted to "do" The Bund properly so we walked north to south to see everything properly. We began at Waibaidu bridge over Suzhou Creek (where we saw the Monument to th Peoples Heroes abstract statue to the dead of the First Opium War) down to Ya’an Road (originally Edward VII Av). The whole walk was 1 mile along Zhongshan Rd (named after Sun Yat-sen). There are 52 buildings in total, but not all are important. Anyway, because of the massive building boom and because people cared about how their buildings looked, there is a wonderful set of Neoclassical, Gothic Revival, Romanesque, Baroque, Beaux-Arts and Oriental buildings (the Art Deco buildings are considered one of the best collections in the world). The world famous Hungarian-slovak architect Laszlo Hudec worked in the city 1918-47.
What we saw (backwards as went N→S):
No 33 The Bund-Peninsula Hotel/ Waitanyuan Private Government restaurant on the site of the 1873 British Consulate
Nos 32-30 Not interesting
No 29 The Bund- Banque de L’Indo-Chine Building built for the French bank in 1914 and now the Everbright Bank of China
No 28 The Bund (& 2 Beijing Rd)- Glen Line Building 1922. Now Shanghai Broadcasting Board.
No 27 The Bund- Jardine Matheson and Co. Ltd Building (a very powerful family firm) 1920 and now Chinese Commerce Ministry.
No 26 The Bund- Yangtze Insurance Assoc Building 1916. Now Agricultural Bank of China.
No 25- not imp
No 24 The Bund- Yokohama Specie Bank built for the Japanese bank 1924 and now Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
No 23 The Bund- Bank of China Building 1937 and still theirs. Squat because Sassoon insisted his building remained the highest.
Nos 22-21- not imp
No 20 The Bund- Sassoon House built as Sir Victor Sassoon’s private house in 1922, then added to attached Cathay Hotel (Peace Hotel since 1956) and the best Art Deco building in Shanghai.
No 19 The Bund- Cathay/ Peace Hotel 1906; now Palace Hotel. Architects Parker and Palmer.
No 18 The Bund- Chartered Bank (of India, Australia and China), then Standard Chartered Bank Building 1923. Reopened 2004 by Gabbiani as shops.
No 17 The Bund- North China Daily News Building 1907 for the important English language newspaper. Today AIA (American International Assurance)
No 16 The Bund- Bank of Taiwan Building 1924. Now China Merchants Bank.
No 15 The Bund- The Russo-Chinese Bank 1901. Now China/Shanghai Foreign Exchange Centre
No 14 The Bund- China Bank of Communications- last house built on the Bund 1948. Now Shanghai’s Trade Union Council.
No 13 The Bund- Customs House, 1927 on site of earlier Chinese customs house. Very distinctive as has an imitation Big Ben clock and bell. Still a customs house!
No 12 The Bund- the famous 1923 neoclassical Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Co Building (HSBC) HQ with beautifully restored ceiling mosaic. Was offered to HSBC in 1990 again, but they refiused so it became Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.
Nos 11-10- not imp
No 9 The Bund- Russell & Co Building 1881 (so earliest); China Shipping Merchants Co. Now shops.
No 8- not imp (statue of Nanking is Chen Yi, first Communist Mayor Shanghai)
No 7 The Bund- The Great Northern Telegraph Co Building built 1907 on the site of the first telephone exchange 1882; today the Thai Consulate and Bangkok Bank.
No 6 The Bund China Merchants Bank Building (first Chinese bank) 1901 and China Merchants Steam Navigation Co Building; now a Shiatzy Chen Department store.
No 5 The Bund Nishin or Nissin Navigation Building (or NKK) built 1925 for a Japanese shipping Co. Now restaurants like “M on the Bund”.
No 4 The Bund- The Mercantile Bank of India, London and China Building built 1916-18
No 3 The Bund- The Union Building (aka Three on The Bund) built 1922 for several insurance companies. Fully repaired as resturants and an Evian spa!
No 2 The Bund- Shanghai Club built in 1911 as a private British social club. Now the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
No 1 The Bund- Asia Building (aka McBain Building) built in 1915 for Royal Dutch Shell and Asiatic Petroleum Co.
We did see some other grand buildings in Shanghai, most notably a huge neoclassical soviet style theatre looking building (Soviets were busy in the city from 1949 founding of People’s Republic of China to 1961 Sino-Soviet split when they decided to go their own ways).
As we disembarked this end we walked over to YuYuan gardens (Jingnan style). This was quite tricky to find, so we walked around the pleasant gardens until we decided the easiest thing was to follow a group tour! Then it was easy. We walked through an alleyway which opened into a vast courtyard with a huge pool and fountain in the centre and the famous zig-zag bridge across the centre. Zig-zag bridges are supposedly to confuse devils! The famous tea house was in the centre, but we were not hungry or thirsty yet, so paid to go into Yu Yuan gardens. After the initial arched entrance it was a real maze. It was amazing (no pun intended) how it all fitted in- we sort of folded in on ourselves. A real Tardis place! The first corner led us to The Great Rockery (the oldest and largest in south China). At the bottom was Cuixiu Hall with its cool trees and flowers. We saw tea houses, carp ponds, covered zig-zag bridges, doorways of all shapes and sizes, grottoes, stones on plinths… Each building had a top statue of a deer or lion or other animal. My favourite view was the SWFC building right next to the old statue of a deer! Very old and new. We found a huge weathered stone with a wall and inscription behind it. This was the famous Exquisite Jade Rock with its 72 holes. Apparently if you pour water over it the water runs through every hole, or if you light an incense stick below the smoke billows through every hole. Needless to say- we didn’t try either! Pan loved this rock so much he built Yuhua Hall opposite just so he could sit and admire it!
Yuyuan (Yu meaning pleasing) Gardens
The gardens were built in 1577 by Pan Yunduan, an official in the Ming Dynasty, for his parents to retire to. It was owned by the Pan family until their fortunes declined and in 1760 a group of merchants bought it and restored it. It was badly damaged in the First Opium War and restored 1956-61.
The 5 acre garden is divided into 6 main areas-
- Sansui (“Lucky”) Hall- built 1760 to entertain guests- the largest hall
ˇ Yule Pavilion and Wanhua Chamber- note the ancient (400 year) maidenhair tree with cloisters around it
ˇ Dianchun Hall which includes Hexu Hall, Relic Hall, Ancient Well Pavilion and Acting-Singing Stage. It was also the HQ of the rebel group Xiaodao Hui 1853-55 (see their coins and notices)
ˇ Hujing Hall
ˇ Yuhua Hall
ˇ Inner Gardens- built 1709 and originally not part of Yu Yuan but joined to it later.
Shanghai specialties light, fresh and tasty. snacks Tangbao, Baiye, and Youmianjin most popular. Tangbao unique dumpling filled with gravy of crab or shrimps. After a bite of soft exterior, the gravy soup with pleasant small flow out together. Baiye is several thin layers of bean curd boiled with salt and green onion. Youmianjin are fermented dough balls made from flour powder deep-fried
After leaving the gardens we went to see the City God Temple next door- very impressive. This was a large impressive set of buildings. It was originally a temple to Jinshan, the spirit of Gold Mountain (Jinshan) which is a large island close to Shanghai. In the early Ming Dynasty Emperor Yongle converted it to a small City Gods Temple (Chenghuang Miao) in 1403. As time went on it became popular and was added to so it now includes the Halls of Huoguang, Yuanchen, Caishen, Cihang, Chenghuang, Niangniang. As it became popular, a bit like western monasteries & bishoprics, shops and stalls grew up around to offer food, relics etc. In 1951 the temple was handed to the Taoist Association who removed many of the traditional statues and re-dedicated it Taoist spirituality. During the Cultural Revolution it was closed down until 1994 when it was restored to use and the building restored in 2005/6. When the Japanese occupied Shanghai they cut off access to the Temple, but as they did not control the foreign concessions a New City Temple was built inside the British/ International Settlement. After WWII ended the Old Temple was available once more and the new one demolished. Sometimes the Temple is therefore called “Old City Gods Temple”. The temple is dedicated to three city “gods”-
1. Huo Gong 68BC the Han Dynasty Chancellor who deposed an Emperor and replaced him (see my note on the Han) and the original city god.
2. Qin Yubo (1295-1373) a Shanghai based high civil servant who served both the last Yuan emperor and the first Ming Emperor, Hongwu, who made him a god of Shanghai on his death.
3. Chen Huacheng (1776-1842), a Qing Dynaty general who defended Shanghai against the British in the 1st Opium War when he died.
We popped into an “international” café to try some Shanghai specialities of Tangbao, Baiye, and Youmianjin. Tangbao was dumpling filled with crab and shrimp gravy. Baiye (we didn’t have so I can’t say how nice) is thin layers of bean curd boiled with onion. Youmianjin was a deep fried dough ball.
In the late afternoon/ early evening we went for a stroll, finding the attractive longtang (or longdang) alleys with their shikumen houses. These are 2/3 storey houses with a bricked-in front courtyard and all connected by the alley with its carved stone arch (shikumen= stone door). The style is Jiangnan and is a compromise to a small urban environment to allow sunlight and a small front garden but keep the traditional courtyard. Lots of historic buildings were in the French concession area, such as Arts Centres, Mosques…
We finally found a nice place to eat- Chinese pizza & pasta (sounds awful, but actually worked), then strolled to look at the night-lit city. In China you eat dinner, then shop rather than our way of shop, then dinner.
A few other 'did you know’ things-
Most Shanghai people speak Wu Chinese which cannot be understood by Mandarin (or other dialect) users. The specific dialects of Shanghai are Suzhou Wu and Ningbo Wu- both have lots of European words in them (unsurprisingly).
Shanghai is one of only 4 directly administered cities. Although the native population have a low brith rate the city is helped by having a massive influx of immigrants both from within China and abroad (particularly from Japan and Korea).
Shanghai has a rich religious heritage including Taoism (City God Temple, Temple to Guan Yu [3 Kingdoms period general], Wenmiao Temple to Confucius), Buddhism (Longhua Temple, Jing’An Temple [3 Kingdoms period] and Jade Buddha Temple with its massive jade statue of Buddha), Islam (1295 Xiaotaoyuan Mosque by our hotel), Christianity (St.Ignatius Cathedral, She Shan Basilica), Judaism (Ohel Moshe in Shanghai Getto).
Shanghai has several names including Shanghai (literally “Above the Sea” and probably dating to a time it sat actually on the coast) from 11thC; Hu Du (also a name for Suzhou Creek); Song Hu (Song = mod Suzhou Hu= river [also pu]); Shen (from Chunshen Jun a nobleman hero of the 3rd C BC Kingdom of Chu); Shencheng (city of Shen); Paris or Athens of the East/ Orient; Huating (751 AD Tang).
27th Aug
- Left early for airport
- Delay nearly 2 hours; Helsinki; home
- Metro back to Bund to buy Huangpu river cruise along Shanghai (Jasmine tea while wait)
