On the way to Yu Yuan Garden

I meant to include this picture in the previous post, but had some technical difficulties with the post. Things seem to be working fine at the moment though.

Welcome to Shanghai!

After deciding not to wait in line with the rest of Shanghai and all the other tourists to visit the Shanghai Museum, I made my way to Yu Yuan Garden . . . or so I thought. I walked, and walked, and walked looking for Fuyou Road, the location of the Garden per the Shanghai map I picked up at the airport. No Fuyou Road, but I did walk past an entrance to "Yu Fashion Garden"--it looked like a hoppin' street with Chinese lanterns and lots of people, and the name had "Yu" and "Garden" in it, so I thought "Let's see what's there."

Entrance (one of many, I later discovered) to Yu Fashion Garden.

I wandered in and immediately felt at home--lots of people taking pictures, and not just foreigners. I moved with the flow of the crowd and found myself in front of this very interesting  gate:

I went in and discovered that I was at the entrance of the City God Temple of Shanghai. For RMB 10 (a little over $1), I purchased a ticket to enter the temple. The entry courtyard was thick with smoking incense--visitors could purchase a bundle to burn, as you can see below.

Courtyard of the City God Temple.

Qin Yubo is a Taoist deity who watches over Shanghai. Despite this being a temple devoted to him, the front hall of the temple contains a large statue of Han Dynasty General Huo Guang and smaller statues of his judges, guardians, and runners. Huo Guang was apparently the City God of Shanghai during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).   

General Huo Guang (center); judges (left and right).

Qin Yubo (1295-1373) was a civil servant during the Yuan Dynasty. After his death, he was anointed City God of Shanghai by the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). So General Huo Guang had a good 89 years as City God before being replaced by Qin Yubo. I guess it's nice that they kept a hall for the general in the temple. The altar of Qin Yubo is in the second hall of the temple.

Altar of Qin Yubo.