Early Winter at Yuyuan | Encountering the Radiant Beauty of Chinese Aesthetics

Looking for some footage for a planned video, I took my camera to the Yuyuan Lantern Show over the weekend. It had been a while since my last visit, and I didn’t expect Yuyuan to be so lively now—crowds everywhere. The lights were as beautiful as ever, and the half-hourly light shows were truly dazzling. I originally planned to shoot just a few shots and leave, but I ended up unable to stop~~. Here are some great spots I personally tested, for those planning to visit: The light show mainly focuses on three locations. Nine-turn Bridge: 1. Shoot up close at the Nine-turn Bridge Plaza, P1-P3. 3. I personally recommend shooting on the Nine-turn Bridge itself or by the lakeside near the entrance to Yuyuan Garden, where the foreground has less interference, P4-P8. 2. You can also shoot in reverse to capture the Shanghai Tower and the Lake Heart Pavilion together, blending ancient and modern, P9. Ninghui Road: 1. Use a medium to long lens on the street to create a compressed spatial effect, with overlapping Chinese eaves, giving a sense of prosperous splendor, P10-P12. 2. From the terrace on the second floor of Tianyu Building, you can capture the full view of Ninghui Road, P13. Central Plaza: 1. The plaza is just south of Tianyu Building; from the third-floor restroom entrance of Huabao Building on the south side, you can capture the entire plaza, P14-P1. 2. At the plaza, I happened to catch the oil umbrella dance. It’s also the Yuyuan Intangible Cultural Heritage Season, with many heritage stalls to explore, P17-P18. This season’s Intangible Cultural Heritage event at Yuyuan runs until December 14th, and the light show will continue. For those wanting to shoot, you can refer to my spots to find good angles. The show runs from 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM, every half hour, lasting 3 minutes each time. You can actually arrive earlier; the regular lighting under the blue hour is already very beautiful.