However, during the Opium Wars, the garden was badly damaged. Yuyuan Garden was first conceived by Pan Yunduan, an officer in the Ming Dynasty, for his parents to spend a quiet and happy life in their old age. This despite its closeness to the big shopping area of bazaars. Yu means ‘peaceful’ in Chinese, and so it really is. Rumour has it that it was meant for the imperial palace in Beijing, but was salvaged after the boat sank off Shanghai. The rock is characterized by its wrinkled appearance, slender shape, translucent nature and numerous holes eroded by water. It is a 5-ton, porous, beautifully-shaped rock, which is said to have been carried from Taihu (Tai Lake) in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.

The exquisite layout and the artistic style of the garden architecture have made the garden one of the highlights of Shanghai.Ī centerpiece, and one of the highlights of the garden is the Exquisite Jade Rock. At first it was the private garden of the Pan family in the Ming Dynasty, and it was the largest and most prestigious of its era in Shanghai after it was completed. Yuyuan Garden is believed to have been built in the Ming Dynasty, 1559, more than 400 years ago. The male has his usual power grip on the ball…Somehow these differences made the statues feel much more human. These two are looking at each other instead of straight forward, and the female has a cub, or child, standing upright instead of lying on its back under her paw. Something I noticed immediately was the fact that the traditional male and female lions were a bit different here compared to all the other ones I have seen in China. Many famous people have visited here – for example the Queen of England. It is also important for keeping the evil spirits from getting into the pavilion – evil spirits can not turn around corners… According to traditional Chinese beliefs, this zig-zag design is not only for aesthetic appeal.

It is standing on stilts, and there is a zig-zag constructed bridge leading up to it. Just outside the entrance of the garden is a lake with the famous Huxinting teahouse, built 1784. People say that the Yuyuan Garden is so exquisite that it can be comparable to the Humble Administrator’s Garden in Suzhou, Yuyuan Garden is located in the center of Shanghai’s Old City, a few blocks south of the Bund, and it has a total area of about two hectares (five acres). Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden, means Garden of Happiness in Chinese. Read my post on the Lingering Garden in Suzhou, to get more facts about what a Chinese garden stands for. Another of the most famous gardens in China, is the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai.

Yu garden shanghai