The First Lotus Flower Seen in 2020

**Duration: 1 day. Time: July. Per capita cost: 100 yuan. With whom: Alone. Ways to play: Photograph[...]

**Duration: 1 day. Time: July. Per capita cost: 100 yuan. With whom: Alone. Ways to play: Photography, humanities, independent travel.**

**Visited Places:**
– Shanghai People’s Park
– Zuibaichi Garden
– Guilin Park
– Jing’an Park
– Guyi Garden
– Century Park

**Published on July 16, 2020 at 09:50.**

Upon entering Shanghai People’s Park, I first passed by the tea room. It is said that the number of tea rooms in a city reflects the leisure degree of the city. In little Changshu, there are the most tea rooms. In Yushan Mountain, from the foot to the mountainside, there are more than a dozen tea rooms, which open to welcome guests at five in the morning all year round. I asked the boss, so early, are there any tea drinkers? The boss replied with a smile: “Sir, come and have a look then.” The tea room is full of customers. This is a wonder of Chinese tea rooms. Of course, for another city with many tea rooms, you know it without me telling: Chengdu.

In fact, people in Shanghai have a fast pace, but the degree of leisure in life is not low either. The density of Starbucks, McDonald’s, and KFC… is probably the highest among cities in the country. There are also tea rooms in parks. For example, the “Reading Hall” in Zuibaichi Garden, and the “Feixiang Hall” in Guilin Park, and so on.

On the afternoon of July 12, I went to People’s Park to see lotus flowers. At 3:26, I passed by the park’s tea room. The tea room has no name. The two characters “Tea Garden” are high up. Please see the photo. At this time, the temperature reached 36 degrees.

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This account of a day’s journey through the parks of Shanghai captures the essence of leisure in a bustling city, with a focus on the cultural significance of tea rooms and the beauty of nature.Entering the tea garden, the air conditioning is fully on, and the cool air is overwhelming. At 7 degrees, it’s a new high for this year. The tea garden is bustling with guests, and there are few empty seats. A waiter warmly greets us, asking, “Coffee? Or tea?” Having been here several times, I’m aware that the tea prices are the second lowest in Shanghai.

Looking up at the wall, I confirm that there are seven or eight kinds of tea leaves and coffee, all still priced at 10 yuan, the old prices. The place with the lowest tea price in Shanghai is the Eight Views Garden in Jing’an Park, where the entrance ticket is 3 yuan and the tea price is 5 yuan.

Opposite the tea garden in People’s Park, there is the largest forest of Malus halliana in Shanghai. In April, when the grass grows and warblers fly, the Malus halliana forest is a large expanse of bright red, attracting numerous tourists. The Malus halliana blossoms are as numerous as clouds. This is the golden season for the park’s “tea garden,” where both indoor and outdoor tea tables are filled to capacity.

In addition to the Malus halliana, another famous scenic spot in People’s Park is the lotus pond. Though not large in area, it is one of the places to see lotus flowers in Shanghai, alongside Guyi Garden and Century Park. The lotus pond is just a few steps away from Nanjing Road, leading some to jokingly say that the lotus flowers here are tainted with the perfume of Nanjing Road. After passing by the tea garden and through a dense forest, one arrives at the lotus pond in People’s Park.On a sunny afternoon, at precisely 3:32, I caught my first glimpse of a lotus flower in the year 2020. It was a moment I wanted to capture, so I quickly took a photo to preserve the memory.