Yu Garden

Chenghuang Miao is the bustling marketplace and Yu Garden is literary and refined. Both are neighbors, sitting side by side, but between them are clear and definite boundaries. Yu Garden is like the dim sum of Shanghai. There are no grand large masterpieces here, but you will find small elegant paintings around every bend and turn. When winter draws to a close, plum blossoms come into full bloom in the white snow. White walls, black tiles, withered plum branches, and luxuriant red and white plums coordinate masterfully with Yu Garden's red and black window lattices. Quiet green waters are so dark that they appear almost black. The trees are such a deep shade of green that they could be either flourishing or depressed. Mountain stone is overcast in grey, but nevertheless is full of character. Imagine a scene from ancient times when the snow's intermittent fall would leave the ground wet and slick, and the air was filled with songs about beautiful young women.

History of Yu Garden

The story of Yu Garden begins with a dutiful son. During the reign of Ming Dynasty Emperor, Jia Qing, Pan Xuduan, an official in Sichuan, decided to prove his filial piety by building his parents a private garden in the town of Shanghai. Construction began in 1559, and it quickly turned into a tremendous project, taking almost 20 years to complete. The layout did not fully come under control until 1577, the fifth year of Emperor Wanli. Pan Xuduan decided to name the garden with the character "Yu" from the famous saying, "Yuyue Shuangqing, Yiyang Tiannian" or "make your parents happy, and care for them in their old age". Sadly, Pan's parents died before the garden was finished.

At the beginning of the Qing dynasty, the Pan family fell on hard times. Without funds to properly manage and renovate Yu Garden, it gradually fell into abandonment and ruin. Pan Xuduan's descendants sold the garden at a low price, and the garden's serenity slipped away as it converted into management and administration center for a local guild. Between the 19th century Opium Wars and the Small Sword Society uprising, Yu Garden was heavily contested territory, and eventually became an encampment for foreign invaders. In 1958, Yu Garden was classified as one of Shanghai's major cultural preservation units, and was finally allowed to rise again after years of oppression.

What to see in Yu Garden

Yu Garden is compact and exquisite, representing the style of garden on the Yangtze Delta. With pavilions linked by corridors, artificial hills, and bridges over lotus pools, groves of bamboo and walls occupied by stone dragons, the garden is expressing a combination of the quintessence of South China landscape design from Ming and Qing dynasties. There are 48 famous spots, including some old buildings and some manmade rockery. The old buildings boast the Dianchun Hall, the Cuixiu Hall, the Treasure Chamber, the Wanhua Chamber, the Dragon Wall and the Old Stage. The rebuilt Mid-Lake Pavilion and Nine-Tuning Zigzag Bridge are national cultural heritages under special protection, keeping the popular interest alive.

Sansui Tang Hall

Sansui Tang is an important component of this "mountain forest in the city." Yangshan Tang hall makes up its bottom floor and Juanyu Lou is at the top. A water pavilion sits to Sansui Tang's rear. Follow the winding corridors and climb up to Juanyu Lou. From here you can look out on the idyllic landscape of mountains and lakes, and the speckles of duckweed floating upon the Lotus Flower Pool. Across the river stands an ornamental mountain of piled Wu Kang yellow stones shipped in from Zhejiang. Renowned Ming Dynasty horticulturalist, Zhang Nanyang, was responsible for the mountain's meticulous arrangement.

Cuixiu Tang Hall

Start in Cuixiu Tang and pass through the Moon Gate. Going behind a buttress of the Dragon Wall will take you to Dianchun Tang Hall. When the Small Sword Society started an uprising in September 1863, they established a government office in the Dianchun Tang.

Yuhua Tang Hall

The Yuhua Tang interior is decorated with a set of Ming Dynasty furniture constructed completely of red sandalwood. Its exterior is fronted by the graceful and elegant figure of exotic stone. Measuring 3.3 meters tall and weighing in at 500 kilograms, this three million year old stone is pitted with 72 small holes. Called the Yulfnglong, this stone has the prized characteristics of being slim, wrinkled, and translucent — called the "three types of beauty". Yulinglong shares fame with Suzhou’s Rui Yunfeng and Hangzhou's Zhou Yunfeng as one of the Southern Yangtze's "three mysterious stones". Yulinglong was originally the position of Chu Yu, owner of the Sanlintangnan Garden in Shanghai's Pudong. Chu Yu took great pride in the stone. When Chu Yu died, his stone was passed on to Yu Garden owner, Pan En, whose youngest son, Pan Yungao, married Chu Yu's daughter. The younger Pan had Yulinglong transferred into the Yu Garden.

The East Garden

This is a self-contained courtyard in the southeast comer of Yu Garden. Its area is small, but there is still plenty to see. Perhaps its greatest attractions are the Jiu-long Chi, "Nine Dragon Pool", and ancient stage.

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