Of Shanghai: No, it's not the Happy Fish Waterslide Pavilion

So we figured we should have some pictures of some real Chinese-looking stuff here. On our first day in town, we went to see the centuries-old Yuyuan Garden in the center of Shanghai. It is, I gather, quite old, and has very Chinese-looking scenes of pagodas and ponds like the above. But the highlight, really, was the fun names. Perhaps they could just be translated with more panache, or maybe it really is that they give things names that we find ridiculous.


In any case, it's good to know that the the Ming-dynasty Chinese were well-balanced enough to know that you don't always want a Tower of Happiness. Sometimes you're feeling chill and just want a Hall of Mildness.


And, sadly, the "Big Rockery" is not the place where Mötley Crue hangs out while in China. It's actually just a big pile of rocks. And if you're heading to the Happy Fish Water Side Pavilion, don't expect the fish to be doing big happy leaps out of the water. They just sort of sit there, and don't look all that happy at all. So, yes, China was great, but there were some disappointments.