Question: Which are the suitable places if I’d like to have a taste of the snacks in Shanghai and by the way buy some small commodities with Chinese and Shanghai characteristics?

Answer:

　　If you want to have a taste of snacks in Shanghai or buy some small commodities with Chinese and Shanghai characteristics, Yuyuan Bazaar in Huangpu District should be a good choice. There is a market of small commodities in Yuyuan Bazaar, where you can find small shops selling various kinds of small commodities, for example, corks and buttons of all sizes. What can also be found there are different kinds of flavor foods, such as spiced beans, pear-cream candies and osmanthus sweets. However, what wins Yuyuan more universal praise is its snacks, with about 50 varieties for refreshments alone. Its specialty refreshments include eyebrow-shaped crisps with three shredded ingredients, phoenix-tail steamed dumplings, sticky rice balls in fermented wine rice, eight-treasure rice pudding, rice balls with pigeon eggs, fruits sponge cakes with lard, best wishes cakes, tiny square fruits cakes, sesame cakes, soup noodles with scallions and dry shrimps, pound crisp cakes, and etc. Besides shopping and enjoying the delicacies, you can also look around the Yuyuan Garden, which is a famous garden in Shanghai. Though located in downtown with an area of only a little more than 20, 000 square meters, it has become a place of interest yearned after by tourists both at home and abroad, because of its felicitous design with an intricate layout enabling quietness in a noisy surrounding as well as its long history with an ancient flavor.