Yu Garden was born in the sixteenth century as a son's gift to his elderly father, and it is still the most poetic corner of the old city. Inside you'll find rocks sculpted by time, little bridges, carved wooden pavilions and ponds full of carp, divided by undulating walls that seem to breathe. Outside the walls, in the pond, the Huxinting teahouse is the oldest in Shanghai. A local's tip: come early in the morning to enjoy the calm, and at the Lantern Festival come back in the evening, when the whole neighbourhood lights up.
