Autumn at Jiading Qiuxia and Guyi Gardens in Shanghai

Activities: Culinary delights, photography, and independent travel. The author visited these places: Qiuxia Garden in Jiading, Guyi Garden in Nanxiang, Bole Square, Yu Garden, Zui Bai Chi, Qu Shui Garden, and Cheng Huang Miao in Shanghai, published on December 29, 2019, at 11:43 AM. In early December 2019, the late autumn in Shanghai was as warm as autumn, still presenting an autumnal scene. The author joined a group of photography enthusiasts and colleagues for an outing to capture the last glimpse of autumn. Jiading District’s Qiuxia Garden and Nanxiang Guyi Garden, two classical gardens, were chosen as photography spots. On December 9th, under a clear sky, at 8 AM, the author took the subway line 11 to Jiading North, transferred to bus number 12 to get off at Bole Square, then retreated to Dong Dajie, and walked about 150 meters along the nearly extinct cobblestone road in Shanghai, entering Qiuxia Garden Park at 9 AM. Qiuxia Garden is located in the urban area of Jiading and is as famous as Yu Garden, Guyi Garden, Zui Bai Chi, and Qu Shui Garden as a classical garden in Shanghai. The layout of Qiuxia Garden is compact, centered around a clear pond, surrounded by stone mountains and towering ancient trees, giving a unique experience of ‘a scene with every step’ while walking in the garden. Qiuxia Garden is composed of three private gardens: Gong’s Garden, Shen’s Garden, and Jin’s Garden, merged with the market temple (i.e., Cheng Huang Miao). Most of the buildings in the garden were built during the Ming Dynasty, while the market temple dates back to the Song Dynasty. Qiuxia Garden is divided into four scenic areas: Peach Blossom Pond Scenic Area, Ningxia Pavilion Scenic Area, Qingjing Pond Scenic Area, and Market Temple Scenic Area, with the main part being the Thatched Cottage on the Pond in the Peach Blossom Pond Scenic Area. Every autumn, the red maples in the garden are dyed, making it very suitable for maple viewing and photography. Entering the garden from the south gate, one first arrives at the Market Temple Scenic Area in the southeast of the garden, where the main buildings are the main hall, the character-shaped corridor, and the bedroom, all of which were rebuilt during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. The main hall is magnificent and tall, now serving as the Shanghai Folk Culture Exhibition Center’s ‘Shanghai Local Customs Photo Exhibition’ room, and the bedroom has a large bed and other furniture, with gorgeous decorations. Additionally, the well pavilions on both sides of the south gate of the garden are the original items of the market temple. The Ningxia Pavilion Scenic Area is located in the eastern part of the garden, originally the site of Shen’s Garden, with connected courtyards and corridors, and a large number of trees and flowers planted. Here, the large screen mountain made of Taihu stones is the center, surrounded by buildings such as Ningxia Pavilion, Liao Yan Hall, You Chong Hall, Fu Shu Hall, Huan Cui Hall, Ping Shan Hall, and Shu Yu Zhai. The Peach Blossom Pond Scenic Area is in the southwest of the garden, the original part of Gong’s Garden. Here, centered around Peach Blossom Pond, there are buildings such as Wan Xiang Residence, Ji Xia Pavilion, Thatched Cottage on the Pond, Yi Wei Hall to the south, Cong Gui Hall to the west, and Ji Shan Pavilion, Bi Guang Pavilion to the north, which are either built on the mountain or constructed by the pond. The Thatched Cottage on the Pond resembles a boat, hence also known as the Boat Pavilion, where one can enjoy the beauty of Peach Blossom Pond. The Qingjing Pond Scenic Area is in the northern part of the garden, the site of Jin’s Garden. There is a connecting Qingjing Pond with Peach Blossom Pond to the south, San Yin Hall to the north, Liu Yun Residence, Qiu Shui Hall, Qing Hall to the east, and Qing Song Ridge, Sui Han Pavilion, Bu Pavilion to the west.
Qingsongling is a small hill made of piled soil. There are pine trees, red maples, magnolias, wintersweet and other trees planted on it. There are also rockery waterfalls and pavilions. It is a good place to enjoy the cool and take a short rest. At noon, I took the Hutang special line bus and arrived at Guyi Garden. After tasting Shanghai’s famous Nanxiang Xiaolongbao and fish ball soup at the Guyi Garden restaurant, I took a short rest and entered the park. I kept taking photos until the sun slanted to the west and then started to return home. Guyi Garden was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (1522 – 1566 AD). It is a private residence. Its original name was ‘Yiyuan’, which is taken from the sentence ‘The green bamboos are luxuriant’ in The Book of Songs. In the 11th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1746 AD), it was renamed ‘Guyi Garden’. The architectural style of Guyi Garden is the same as that of Suzhou gardens. The pavilions and towers among the small bridges and flowing water offer different views with every step, simple and elegant. Guyi Garden has two gates. Entering from the south gate is the Nanxiang Screen (decorative wall). Entering from the north gate is Yiye Hall. Enter from the south gate and exit from the north gate, or enter from the north gate and exit from the south gate. There is no need to go back the same way. If you have time, you can visit Nanxiang Ancient Town. Among them, Yiye Hall is the main hall in the garden. It uses nanmu as pillars and is connected by roads on all sides. Standing in the hall, you can see the scenery around. To the east of Yiye Hall is the Goose Pond. To the south of the goose pond is a relatively peculiar building in Guyi Garden – the Missing Corner Pavilion. One corner in the northeast is missing from the four corners of the pavilion. Walking eastward, passing the Mandarin Duck Lake and Songhe Garden, and arriving at Qingqing Garden. Here you can see the real scenery of ‘The green bamboos are luxuriant’. The ancient buildings with upturned eaves and corners under the bamboo forest appear fresh and elegant.

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