Yuyuan bazaar is extremely touristy. Although it is right next to the Gardens it is a busy, noisy and overcrowded bazaar. The shops here peddle everything from tourist souvenirs to traditional medicines.

As we looked up we found that much of the appeal of the site is the old traditional architecture which reflects the cultural heritage of the area.

There was plenty of street food, shops and entertainment with lines of people waiting to buy giant crab soup dumplings and xiao long bao. Western fast food chains were also represented by Dairy Queen, Macdonalds, etc.