Located in northeast of Ancient Chengxiang, north to Fuyou Road, east to Anren Street, Yu Yuan Garden is connected with Town’s God Templem. It is the only garden of Ming Dynasty.
In the 400 years of its existence, Yuyuan Garden had taken great changes. During the late Ming Dynasty, it became very dilapidated with the decline of Pan’s family. In 1760, some rich merchants bought Yuyuan Garden and spent more than 20 years reconstructing the buildings. During the Opium War of the 19th century, Yuyuan Garden was severely damaged. The Yuyuan Garden you see today is the result of a five year restoration project which began in 1956. The garden was opened to the public in September, 1961.
The true treasure of Yuyuan Garden is the Exquisite Jade Rock. Located across from Yuhua Hall, it is one of the three famous rocks in the southern region of the Yangtze River. (The other two are Duanyun Feng in Suzhou and Zhouyun Feng in Hangzhou.) The rock is 3.3 meters (about 10.8 feet) in height and has 72 holes. What is interesting about this rock is that if you burn a joss stick just below the rock, the smoke will magically float out from all of the holes. Similarly, when you pour water into the rock from top, the water will flow out from each hole creating a spectacular sight to see. Pan Yunduan was very fond of the Exquisite Jade Rock, and he built Yuhua Hall facing the rock so it was convenient to sit in the hall and admire it. The furnishings in the hall were made of top grade rosewood of the Ming Dynasty, appearing both natural and graceful.
The Inner Garden was a separate garden built in 1709, but is now a part of Yuyuan Garden in the south. The Inner Garden is compact and exquisite, and the rocks, pavilions, ornamental ponds and flower walls offer some of the most attractive sceneries in Yuyuan Garden.
Yuyuan Garden occupies an area of 20,000 square meters (about five acres). However, the small size is not a representative of the attractions of the garden. The pavilions, halls, rockeries, ponds and cloisters all have unique characteristics. There are six main scenic areas in the garden: Sansui Hall, Wanhua Chamber, Dianchun Hall, Huijing Hall, Yuhua Hall and the Inner Garden. Each area features several scenic spots within its borders.
Address:
132 Anren Street,Huangpu District, Shanghai, China. Zip code: 200010.
Traffic:
To get here, you can take the city bus line 11,26,64,71,145,581,715,730,736,801,926,929,932,969,980 to the bus station named Yuyuan. It is about 2 km from the downtown of Shanghai to Yuyuan, 246 km from Hangzhou to Yuyuan, 313 km from Nanjing to Yuyuan.
Admission fee:
40 rmb for the peak season and 30 rmb for the slack season. 10 rmb for the students.(need to show a student ID) Free for the kids shorter than 1.4 meters. Free for the aged (>70).
Opening hours:
8:30-17:00.(You will not be able to buy tickets after 16:40)
Best season to visit Yuyuan:
Any time.
What to buy here:
Yuyuan Cangshuhuace(250 rmb), Yuyuan Fengguanghuace(280 rmb), Yuyuan Cenyinpu(220 rmb), Yuyuan Fengguang CD(25 rmb), Shanghai Xiaodaohuiqiyijieshao(1 rmb), Yuyuan Intro(6 rmb), Wenyixingyou(2 rmb), Mingxinpian(20 rmb), Yuyuan Dianchunshuhuaji(108 rmb), Yuyuan Daoyoutu(1.5 rmb), Shanghai Wenwubowuguanzhi(120 rmb), Mingqingshanmianxuan(300 rmb).
Shopping centers around Yuyuan Garden:
Yuyuan Lvyoushangcheng (19 Wenchanglu Street), Yuyuan Baihuogongsi (24 Wenchanglu Street), Shanghai Lvyougouwushangcheng (239 Fuzuolu Street), Kuaizidian (33 Yuyuanlaolu Street), Xiaoshijiegouwushangsha (234 Fuzuolu Street), Yuyuan Shangchenggongyipinggongsi (265 Fangbingzhonglu Street), Yongqingjiafashangdian (15 Yuyuanxinlu Street).