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This small lake in the center of the tourist shopping district in Shanghai, close to the Bund, is specially famous because of its 9-bend bridge.

The number "9" has a very special meaning in the chinese culture and is considered as a lucky number. Ancient chinese regarded odd numbers as masculine (yang) and even numbers as feminine (ying). As 9 is the highest single-digit odd number, it was considered as the maximum of strength and masculinity, and as a consequence a symbol of the emperor. This is why it is commonly used in palace architecture.

In palaces, temples, monasteries many things are in number of 9 or its multiples, like doors, courtyards, windows, stairs, etc.

An example can be seen in the Circular Mound Altar in the Temple of Heaven in Beijing (currently under repair works, preparing the Olympic Games), where the floor of the upper terrace is made of 9 concentric rings. The first ring consists of 9 slabs, the second has 18 slabs(2x9), and the last 81 (9x9). In the middle, the place where the Ming emperors worshipped Heaven.

The same applies to the studs in the gates of the palaces that are usually arranged in 9 lines of 9 studs each.

One of the main points in the Forbidden City is the 9-dragon wall.

The New Year Dinner in the imperial house was composed of 99 dishes.

When visiting China, specially the historic places, it is interesting to take this into consideration to notice the importance of the "9".