I first came to know about the Yuyuan Gardens (Garden of Happiness) when I had to bring some customers for sightseeing here as part of a large Asia Pacific marketing event I organised in May 2011. I then decided to bring my family here for sightseeing in October. This was actually a private garden built in a 1559 occupying an area of 2 hectares (5 acres). Probably all of the buildings here were destroyed and rebuilt over the years. But its still great to take a walk and enjoy ancient Chinese architectural styles. But you have to understand that this is one of the top tourist destinations in Shanghai and therefore it is always super-crowded, especially during festive times. One thing I observed was that beyond the veil of a cultural heritage site, this seemed to be a well-managed thriving commercial enterprise. You need a ticket to enter the area and there were streets and streets of well-organised tourist food and souvenir stalls, fashion and clothing departmental stores, various supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. This is an excellent business model where you can showcase your cultural heritage and make money out of that.
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