Yu Garden

Yu Garden in ShanghaiYu Garden 豫园 Yùyuán is located in the Huangpu District, northwest of old Shanghai, south of Fuyou Street. To the east is Anren Street and to the southwest is the Temple of the City God.

Yu Garden is in the style of the classical gardens of the Ming Dynasty. Built in 1559, it was initially one of the private gardens of Pan Yundan, governor of Sichuan Province, who designed it to please his father. The word has the same pronunciation as "to delight." Subsequently, the garden passed through several owners and suffered damage from wars and fires multiple times. Today, it is a typical garden of Jiangnan, the "south" of China. It is a major tourist attraction in Shanghai.

Yu Garden was opened to the public in 1961. As early as 1959, it had been declared a protected cultural site of Shanghai. In 1982, it was promoted to the rank of national protected cultural site.

 

Visit of Yu Garden

Yu Garden is divided into four parts: west, east, central, and inner garden.

The western part 西部 Xībù of Yu Garden

In the western part, we find the Pavilion of Three Ears 三穗堂 Sān suì táng, which was the place where harvests were stored:
 

Pavilion of Three Ears

 

The Pavilion for Admiring the Great Rockery 仰山堂 Yǎng shān táng is a pavilion that overlooks a 14-meter-high ensemble composed of yellow stones extracted from Zhejiang Province and topped with a small kiosk from which one could once admire the Huangpu River.
 

Pavilion for Admiring the Great Rockery

 

The Great Rockery 大假山 Dà jiǎ shān mentioned above:
 

Great Rockery

 

Another famous curiosity is the command center (点春堂 Diǎn chūn táng) of the secret society of the "Small Swords" 小刀会 Xiǎo dāo huì:
 

Command center of the secret society of the Small Swords

 

The stone lions of the Yuan Dynasty 元代铁狮 Yuán dài tiě shī:
 

Stone lions of the Yuan Dynasty

The eastern part 东部 Dōngbù of Yu Garden

In the eastern part of the garden is one of the "Three Rocks of Jiangnan" (江南三大名石 Jiāngnán sān dàmíng shí). The one in Yu Garden is named Yulinglong 玉玲珑 Yùlínglóng:
 

The Yulinglong rock of Yu Garden in Shanghai

 

In the eastern part of Yu Garden is also the Gallery of Water that Accumulates Jade 积玉水廊 Jī yù shuǐ láng:
 

Gallery of Water that Accumulates Jade

 

The central part 中部 Zhōngbù of Yu Garden

In the central part of the garden is the Chamber for Admiring the Moon 得月楼 Dé yuè lóu:
 

Chamber for Admiring the Moon

 

North of the Chamber for Admiring the Moon, we discover the Rockery that Washes the Clouds 浣云假山 Huàn yún jiǎ shān. Inside the rockery is a fountain that can be heard from the Chamber for Admiring the Moon. The rockery takes its name from the sound of the fountain water.
 

Rockery that Washes the Clouds

 

The inner garden 内园 nèiyuán of Yu Garden

The inner garden 内园 nèiyuán of Yu Garden is a relatively small space. There is the stage for the ancient theater:
 

Stage for the ancient theater



and the pond of nine dragons:
 

Pond of Nine Dragons