Lotus garden night tour 'blooming lovely'

From a sumptuous banquet of various lotus dishes to a bevy of unique intangible cultural heritage experiences, expatriates had a delightful tour on Friday night at Guyi Garden in Jiading District.

The garden is blossoming vibrantly with the ongoing 11th Shanghai Lotus and Water Lily Exhibition.

Amid light fragrance of lotuses and water lilies in full bloom, they enjoyed the fun of making xiaolong (steamed mini-buns filled with pork), a signature of Nanxiang Town, and enjoyed a banquet comprising of a variety of dishes and dim sum using all parts of lotuses including its roots, leaves, flowers and seeds, with boundless imagination.

One of the dishes used newly sprouted lotus leaves with shrimp dumplings made of lotus seed and shelled fresh shrimps wrapped inside. The fried lotus leaves feature a crispy texture, while the shrimp dumpling tastes chewy, presenting an impressive flavor which lingers in mouth.

A tea ceremony was performed and the everlasting charm of calligraphy art was unfolded. Soulful melodies of Jiangnan sizhu (string and wind music) resonated in the air of the 500-year-old Jiangnan-style (lower part of the Yangtze River) classic garden on the summer night, presenting a soothing feast to the ears.

The whole trip ended with an interesting experience of lotus petal dough figurine and bowl lotus planting.

The event was part of "Hidden Gems in Shanghai," a city walk program targeting expats developed by Shanghai Daily and City News Service.

Participants of the tour came from countries such as France, Russia, and Morocco.

Wearing hanfu (traditional Chinese Han-style attire), Timofei Korovikov from Russia walked gracefully in the ancient Jiangnan-style classic garden.

"It's like I'm inside of an ancient drama about ancient Chinese dynasties, it's so cool," he said. "Especially as I'm dressed in the traditional clothing, I feel like I am in that time."

It was the first time for Korovikov to visit the garden.

"I've never seen so many lotuses before and I think it's very very beautiful. I never try so many different lotus dishes at the same time. It was really amazing. I think music is one of the best things in Chinese culture, and I feel it's (sizhu performance) incredible."

"I would really like to visit this garden again with some of my friends," said Korovikov.

It was also the first visit of Khalfi Ahmed from Morocco to the garden.

"First we start from making the steamed buns, and it is a great experience," he said. "We watch the lotus flower, learn how they grow up and they talk to us about the history of the garden, which is also very interesting."

"It's good to discover all the Chinese culture and meet all the new people. It was a great opportunity."

Ahmed said the banquet was impressive.

"It is really a unique experience because most of the foods and the dishes were like focusing on presenting the lotus flower by diversified ways and they gave dishes many tastes," he said.

"I will definitely recommend the garden and the garden visit to my friends. I would like to tell them about it and how great and how awesome it is. It's a good opportunity to discover the nature and history. We are happy to be here."

During the exhibition, the garden displays approximately 400 lotuses and 200 water lilies, including some rare varieties making their debut in China.

Visitors can enjoy the beauty, elegance and fragrance of flowers in five large-scale gardening landscapes, while lotuses and water lilies are flourishing in eight ponds and lakes.

Some award-winning lotuses in red, yellow, and other colors are also on display.

The garden's opening hours will be extended to 8:30pm on weekends during the exhibition through August 10.

Tourists can have fun strolling through gufeng (old Chinese-style) bazaars, where they can practice calligraphy, make lacquer fans, drink lotus tea, and release lotus lanterns into the river.

There will also be classes on bamboo plaiting and lotus-related topics.

Exhibitions on the Ming Dynasty's (1368–1644) lifestyle, calligraphy, and painting will enrich visitors' experiences.