Inside the Old City: The Real Shanghai Behind Yu Garden
Another Shanghai, 500 metres past the Yu Garden tourists
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Stops in order
Danfeng Road Wet Market
Start here. Six in the morning is busiest. Many seafood vendors speak Chongming dialect — be ready to parse 'how much per jin?' in old Shanghainese.
Ziyuan Garden · Wang Yiting's Former Residence
Private garden of Wang Yiting, lead writer for Shenbao newspaper. Inside are old Buddhist pines and Taihu rocks. Einstein dined here on his 1922 visit to Shanghai. Now a residential courtyard — you can only glimpse it from the alley off Qiaojia Road.
Shuyin Lou (Hidden Library Pavilion)
77 Tiandeng Lane — the Qianlong-era home of scholar Lu Xixiong. The carved wooden gateway with the three characters '书隐楼' has not weathered to this day. Descendants still live inside; in daytime you can study the brick carvings through the railing.
Xiao Taoyuan Mosque
Built in 1917 under Imam Jin Ziyun, this is the largest surviving Islamic building in Shanghai. The main hall has three domes; the lane in front, Xiao Taoyuan, used to be an actual peach orchard.
Yuyuan Neighbourhood Community Canteen
End of the walk. A neighbourhood canteen for the elderly that opens to the public at lunch — three dishes (one meat, two veg) for 15 yuan. The 'menu of the week' on the wall is handwritten.
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