Enchanting Yu Garden Shanghai China Beckoning
In Shanghai “Yu Garden” is the place that I like most although it’s so crowded, it’s nice. I am sharing some information about Yu Garden Shanghai that every traveler who wants to visit here must know. Yu Garden Shanghai China is a Chinese classical and traditional architecture. It is a highly sought-after famous tourist destination for people visiting from abroad. It also enjoys the reputation of being “the crown of beauty in Southeast China”, offering pleasant views. Yu Garden is one of the Four National Cultural Markets in China.
Yu Garden Shanghai is a Chinese classic and traditional architecture, It is a highly sought-after famous tourist destination for people visiting from abroad. It also enjoys the reputation of being “the crown of beauty in Southeast China”, offering pleasant views. Yu Garden is one of the Four National Cultural Markets in China.
Now Yu Garden occupies 2 hectares, with different pavilions, lofty artificial mountains, green trees, lakes, rockeries, bridges, dragon walls, gardens traditional buildings, etc
Glorious History of Yu Garden Shanghai China
It was first built during the Jiajing and Wanli periods of the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 450 years. It covers an area of more than 30 mu. Together with Luxiang Garden and Rishe Garden, they are known as the “Three Famous Gardens of Shanghai in the Ming Dynasty” and is ranked first among the five existing classical gardens in Shanghai. A national AAAA-level tourist attraction.
Yu Garden Shanghai was originally a private garden in the Ming Dynasty. The owner of the garden, Pan Yun Duan, was once the governor of Sichuan. His father, Pan En, served as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate and the Minister of Justice. In order to let his father enjoy his old age, Pan Yun Duan built Yu Garden after more than 20 years of hard work.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it was recognized as the “crown of famous gardens in the southeast.” Yu Garden has a typical Jiangnan Garden style. Reflecting the artistic style of southern gardens in the Ming and Qing dynasties, which were “quiet, beautiful, exquisite and delicate” The park also preserves a considerable number of ancient trees and Ming and Qing furniture, calligraphy and paintings by famous people, clay sculptures and brick carvings, plaques and couplets, and other cultural relics, which embody the essence of China’s rich traditional culture and art.
In the 38th year of Ming Jiajing (1559), Pan Yun Duan, the son of Ming Dynasty Minister of Punishment Pan En, returned home after failing the imperial examination. In order to let his father enjoy his old age, he built a private garden on the vegetable fields to the west of his house, dug a pond with stones, constructed a pavilion and planted bamboo. This was the original Yu Garden.
In the 41st year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1562), Pan Yunduan was listed in the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. He was appointed as an official in another place and had no time to build the garden.
In the fifth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1577), Pan Yun Duan suffered setbacks in his official career, was dismissed from his post as the Right Governor of Sichuan and returned home and began to concentrate on building his own garden and hired the famous horticulturist Zhang Nanyang to design and build the garden and devoted all his efforts to the renovation of the garden.
In the 18th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1590), the garden was further supplemented with details and the rare stone jade was moved in to enrich the garden scenery. Pan Yun Duan named it Yu Garden and when it was completed, it covered an area of more than 70 mu which was one of the most famous gardens in Jiangnan at that time.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, after Pan Yun Duan’s death, his descendants failed to take good care of the garden and Yu Garden fell into decline. The interior was in a state of disrepair and was often visited by people.
During the Kangxi and Qianlong periods in the early and mid-Qing Dynasty, the reconstruction of the Yu Garden area was accompanied by the construction of guild halls and public offices.
In the 25th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1760), in order to prevent this famous scenic spot from being destroyed, local gentry raised funds, purchased Yu Garden from the descendants of the Pan family and donated it to the City God Temple. It took more than 20 years to renovate the pavilions, add rocks, dredge the river, and restore the garden. Sansui Hall was built on the site of the dilapidated Leshou Hall facing the lotus pond.
In the 48th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1709), Shanghai gentry purchased land in the eastern part of the City God Temple to build a temple garden for public activities, which was also called Lingyuan or Dongyuan (now called Neiyuan). This is the temple garden of the City God Temple, which was managed by Qian Ye. It has the appearance of a public garden and covers an area of only 2.168 acres.
Because there was already an East Garden (now the Inner Garden) to the east of the City God Temple at that time and Yu Garden was slightly to the west. It was renamed the West Garden. After the restoration, the West Garden was no longer a private garden but a temple garden for scholars and gentry to gather and play. Some buildings were rebuilt or newly constructed on the original site and the layout of the buildings and the placement of stones have changed to some extent but the overall spatial layout is not much different from that of the Yu Garden in the Ming Dynasty.
During the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1796-1821), the Taoist priests of the City God Temple were no longer able to manage and maintain the gardens and Yu Garden was forced to become a territory divided up by the Commercial Office.
During the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1821-1850), local officials issued an order to make Yu Garden a meeting place for commercial trade associations. Each of the 21 industries occupied an area within the garden and raised funds for its renovation.
In the 22nd year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign (1842), after the outbreak of the First Opium War, the British army invaded and occupied Yu Garden and Chenghuang Temple for 13 days. During the war, Yu Garden was gradually divided up and eroded. Buildings such as Dianchun Hall, Xiangxue Tower, and Deyue Tower were burned down, leaving the garden completely unrecognizable. After reconstruction and restoration, the Yu Garden and Chenghuang Temple were rebuilt into a trinity of temple, garden, and city.
In 1855, after the failure of the Small Knife Society uprising in Shanghai, the Qing army entered the city and burned and killed people. Yu Garden was once again devastated. In response to the uprising, the Shanghai Small Swords Society occupied Dianchun Hall in Yu Garden and other areas as their headquarters.
In 1860, the Taiping Rebellion marched into Shanghai. The Qing government colluded with the British and French invaders and stationed troops in Yu Garden. They dug rocks and filled the pond to build Western-style barracks and the garden was completely changed. By the seventh year of the Tongzhi reign (1868), Yu Garden had shrunk to less than 37 acres.
During the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1862-1875), some of the chambers of commerce cleaned up their dilapidated parts and began to rebuild their original gardens. The parts south and west of the lotus pond lost much of their original appearance, and the halls were converted into shops. The parts to the north and east were relatively well preserved and were renovated and rebuilt on the original basis. At this time, the chambers of commerce operated independently, and the building density increased. Some were surrounded by high walls, the space was contracted, and each block was relatively independent.
After the early years of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1875), the rebuilt Yu Garden was divided up by twelve industrial and commercial offices, including soybean, rice, and sugar companies. By then, Yu Garden had completely lost its former beauty. During the Republic of China period (1912-1948), a primary school was opened in Yu Garden and the scenic spot fell into decline.
In 1937, during the Battle of Shanghai, the Xiangxue Hall was burned down by the Japanese invaders. Except for the Yulinglong rockery in front of the hall, only an empty space remained. Due to long-term lack of maintenance, most of the buildings are in a dilapidated state, with broken walls and broken walls, and are beyond recognition. Important parts of the garden, such as Dianchun Hall, Sansui Hall, the large rockery, and some pavilions, towers, and ancient trees, have been preserved.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the government began work on the restoration and maintenance of Yu Garden.
In the 1950s, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture drafted a 12-year plan for the restoration of Yu Garden which was approved by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and decided to allocate special funds to relocate residents in the garden and to renovate and rebuild the garden’s buildings.
Starting in 1956, the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government began a large-scale renovation of Yu Garden. Research experts, represented by Mr. Chen Congzhou, suggested that rescue protection should be the main task. However, due to the three-year natural disaster (1959-1961), the restoration work of Yu Garden came to a complete standstill.
In September 1961, most of the original garden landscape was restored and the inner garden was incorporated into the park. At this time, Yu Garden retained the spatial style of the public garden after the reconstruction during the Tongzhi period, and the Yu Garden of the late Qing Dynasty and modern times was unified and regularized on a large scale, but the Yuhua Hall area in the east was still vacant. The East Garden basically retained its original appearance and was called the Inner Garden. The East and West Gardens were connected, and Yu Garden was reopened. and then continued to be repaired.
In 1978, after the reform and opening up, the restoration and protection of Yu Garden resumed. During this period, restoration drawings were drawn up based on the form, structure and architectural features of the Qing Dynasty. Schools, shops and residential buildings that were intertwined with the garden were gradually moved out. The cement pavement that was inconsistent with the style of the ancient garden was replaced with brick and stone pavement. A total of 23 major renovation projects and over 100 minor projects were completed, and more than 30 acres of garden landscape were restored.
Before 1986, several small landscapes were added to the eastern part of Yu Garden, and some of the garden landscapes were damaged during the Cultural Revolution.
Starting in 1986, with the successful application of Yu Garden as a “National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit” as an opportunity, another renovation project was carried out, led by Dong Liangguang of the Yu Garden Management Office and chaired by Professor Chen Congzhou of Tongji University. The first and second phases of the project were completed in 1987, and the eastern part of Yu Garden was completely renovated, with the main focus on landscape creation.
In 2003, the construction of Hanbi Tower, Tingtao Pavilion and Jiyu Waterside Gallery was completed.
In September 2024, the Shanghai Yu Garden mascot IP image was officially released.
Architectural Structure
Yu Garden Shanghai is approximately 100 meters long from east to west and 230 meters long from north to south and is long and narrow from north to south. Most of the courtyards in the garden have relatively independent areas and boundaries which can be further deconstructed into courtyard spaces. The combination of each courtyard space is a flexible and editable, repairable and adaptable spatial structure.
The entire Yu Garden Shanhai space constructs a pattern of harmonious coexistence and poetic living between man and nature, expressing the vitality and vigor of nature, ensuring that visitors can feel the atmosphere of “following nature” and “learning from creation” no matter where they are, which permeates the spatial landscape. The structural form of Yu Garden is a knife-shaped layout, and garden pieces such as lattice windows and rockery are used as symbols of spatial landscape transformation, which can flexibly control the overall spatial structure, block the sight and angle of the visitor to a certain extent, and deepen the depth of field effect of the space.
Entering the main gate of China Yu Garden from the Jiuqu Bridge beside the lotus pond is Sansui Hall. Immediately behind Sansui Hall is a two-story hall, facing the large rockery across the lotus pond. The hall on the ground floor is called Yangshan Hall and the building is called Juanyu Tower. To the east of Yangshan Hall is a corridor half spanning over the water. In front of the corridor are two iron lions from the Yuan Dynasty, a female on the left and a male on the right. Across the stone bridge from the large rockery to the east is a lake stone rockery.
Cuixiu Hall is located at the eastern foot of the mountain. It is built facing the mountain and is the finishing building of this scenic area. To the southeast, you can see the “Yule Pavilion” across the stream. There is a double corridor to the east, and a square pavilion to the west of the double corridor. There is a plaque in the pavilion that reads “Meeting is not far away”. The small pavilion at the east end is called “Liangyi Pavilion”.
Passing through the corridor, on the left is the Wanhua Tower, which was rebuilt in the 23rd year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1843). It is the site of the Flower God Pavilion of the Ming Dynasty. The existing building was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. The original meaning comes from “the depths of thousands of flowers”. There is a dragon wall to the east of the Wanhua Tower. Through the dragon wall, the main building is the Dianchun Hall. Opposite the Dianchun Hall is a small stage facing the water on three sides, commonly known as the “singing stage”, and the stage is called “Feng Wu Luan Yin”.
There is a pool behind the stage, and the south of the pool is the “Hexu Hall”. To the east of the Hexu Hall and the stage is a Taihu stone rockery. There is a cave running through the bottom of the mountain. On the mountain stands a two-story high pavilion, the lower floor is called Yanshuang Pavilion, and the upper floor is called Kuailou. To the north of the Kuailou, stones are stacked to form Baoyun Rock. To the south of the Kuailou is a small courtyard, and Jingyi Pavilion and Tingli Pavilion are built inside the wall. To the west of the Singing Stage is the Double Dragon Playing with Pearl Gate.
To the west of the gate is a long and narrow pool from north to south. To the east of the pool is the Huijing Pavilion, a two-story building built in the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1870). To the east of the Huijing Pavilion is a long corridor overlooking the pool, called the Jiyu Corridor. To the east of the Jiyu Corridor is the Tingtao Pavilion. Across the pool from the Tingtao Pavilion is the two-story Hanbi Tower, also known as the Nanmu Carved Flower Tower.
To the northwest of Huijing Pavilion is the Jiushi Pavilion, which is halfway across the pond. To the west of the pavilion is a fir forest, and to the east of the pavilion is a corridor leading to the Moon Cave Gate. At the south end of the pond, opposite Huijing Pavilion is the Liushang Pavilion, which faces the water on both sides. After crossing the three-curved plank bridge, you will see the strange stone Yulinglong. Opposite Yulinglong is Yuhua Hall. Yuhua Hall faces Yulinglong, is flanked by the Jiyu Corridor to the east, and faces the curved pond at the back.
To the west of Yulinglong is the round cave door “Chen Yulinglong”, and entering the cave door is a rectangular courtyard. In the courtyard stands the two-story Deyue Tower, with the lower hall named Qizao Hall and a corridor outside called Baishou Corridor. To the west of Deyue Tower is the lotus pond, and behind Yulinglong is a large screen wall. To the south of the screen wall is a stream, and over the stream is a single-hole arched stone bridge made of bluestone called Huanlong Bridge.
Over the past four hundred years, Yu Garden has gradually shrunk, with the southwest side assimilated into the surrounding environment. In order to adapt to the changes in the surrounding environment and the nature of Yu Garden at different times, the garden boundary has undergone a process from closed to semi-open and then to closed, and the main garden gate has also been moved from Anren Street in the east to the north of the lotus pond.
Features
Overall layout
The large rockery in the northwest corner of Yu Garden Shanghai is the main mountain. You can see the boats on the Pujiang River by hiking to the top of the “Wangjiang Pavilion”. The rockery is backed by a pond, and there is a Paxiu Pavilion at the foot of the mountain. The large rockery is the climax of the whole garden. Yulinglong is another highlight of the whole garden. It is a leaky rockery, which is stacked with hollow and strange-shaped stones, and is famous for its countless transparent small holes. The inner courtyard in the southeast corner is the secondary mountain, which forms a main and three-dimensional mountain layout around Songcui Courtyard.
The mountain here uses the technique of “taking the curve rather than the straight, and the meaning of emptiness rather than the solid”, forming a natural mountain and forest scene, making people feel like they are in thousands of mountains and valleys.
The water in Yu Garden Shanghai China complements the dynamic and static, and the virtual and real, with strong artistic charm and appeal. The water is located because of the mountains. The water system forms a space with a gathering and dispersion from southeast to northwest. The water bodies are in the form of pools, rivers, streams, and creeks.
The pool of clear water in front of Yangshan Hall is the largest pool in the garden and it also sets off the large rockery to the north. The pools in front of Dianchun Hall and the stage not only set off the landscape interest of the building, but also play the role of spatial division. The pool of water to the south of the library is matched with rockery of various shapes, making the scenery lively.
Yu Garden Shanghai with a site of only about 30 mu, houses more than 30 pavilions, halls, and terraces, making full use of every inch of land. At the same time, most of the courtyard spaces have relatively clear boundaries, such as the walls of the Dragon Piercing the Clouds, the Dragon Sleeping, and the Double Dragons Playing with Pearls, which define a unique sense of territory, dividing the space and enriching the levels. The inner garden is long and narrow, and the space landscape is rich in layers. The evolution of Yu Garden’s spatial landscape highlights its changing and unified garden characteristics.
It absorbs the openness of the landscape space of “Western-style gardens”, with a simple layout structure, and a design style that is diverse but not chaotic, breaking through the semi-closed space characteristics of Chinese classical private gardens and showing strong vitality.
The interior landscape of Yu Garden is dominated by rockeries, strange rocks, winding waters, and a variety of exquisite buildings. The “mountain” is a large rockery, which was designed and built by Zhang Nanyang, a master of stone stacking in the Ming Dynasty. It is also his only work that has survived to this day.
The mountain is made of yellow stones from Wukang, Zhejiang Province, and is a famous work of stone stacking in ancient Chinese gardens. In his “Records of Yu Garden”, Pan Yunduan praised the large rockery as “precipitous and quite pleasant to watch”. The “stone” refers to “Yu Linglong”, one of the three famous stones in the south of the Yangtze River. It has the characteristics of wrinkles, holes, transparency, and thinness. Because it is porous all over, it is exquisite and translucent under the sunlight, hence the name “Yu Linglong”.
The doorway in the garden is built with rocks, with the doorposts on both sides in vertical straight lines and the lintel above the door in horizontal straight lines, creating an abstract entrance and exit to the rockery space. Most of the buildings in the garden are small and exquisite, such as “Sansui Hall”, “Yangshan Hall” and “Juanyu Tower”.
Natural layout
The general plan of China Yu Garden emphasizes the natural layout, that is, deep and winding. The lattice windows, small courtyards, rockery, etc. often serve as barriers to the changing positions of the landscape space in Yu Garden, blocking the sight of visitors to a certain extent. Visitors who have just entered the gate can only vaguely appreciate a corner of the park.
If they want to see the complete appearance of the mountains, pools, pavilions and pavilions in the garden, they need to take many detours to see them. One of the characteristics of Yu Garden is the changing scenery, the second characteristic is the compact layout, and the third characteristic is the variety. When people walk in Yu Garden, where there are several windows and doors of different shapes on the walls on both sides of the corridor, it is like swimming in a painting.
The overall plan of Yu Garden Shanghai presents a fusion of house and garden. Its overall plan is knife-shaped and mainly natural. It is divided into two parts, the inner garden and the outer garden, from the southwest gate to the north and south. The overall plan gradually forms a relatively narrow and long layout from Laojun Temple to the south to the inner garden, and together with the gradually widening layout to the north of Laojun Temple, it forms the overall knife-shaped plan.
This irregular knife-shaped layout also uses the technique of first expanding and then contracting, first exalting and then suppressing in terms of space. In particular, it integrates the structure of the north mountain and the south water into the entire garden, making the entire space present a staggered high and low, virtual and real changes, and full of vitality.
Spatial sequence
According to the spatial sequence diagram of Yu Garden Shanghai, starting from the lake surface of the Huxin Pavilion, people are led into the small courtyard formed by Sansui Hall from the southwest entrance. Along the axis direction, the visual distance ratio is greater than 1, thus forming a tightly enclosed space. There are sparse and dense, compact and relaxed spaces in the space, which do not cause excessive tension in visitors, thus achieving a sense of physical and mental comfort.
Entering Yangshan Hall from Sanhui Hall is more cramped, forming a landscape feature of a narrow sky. The characteristics of these two spaces are suppression, and when you turn north through these two spaces, the space is suddenly open. There is a rockery to the north of the water, forming the climax of the first sequence of space. Entering the Wanhua Tower scenic area from west to east by a small bridge, Yifang and Qulang form a transitional space, and the Qulang to the east forms a climax space.
The second sequence of spaces is dominated by the Wanhua Tower, characterized by the Dragon Wall, and set against the Nanshan Mountain, laying the foundation for entering the third and fourth sequence spaces. Entering the third sequence of spaces from the Dragon Wall to the east, this space is a north-south sequence of spaces. The Hexu Hall and Bishan form the starting point, and the space is cramped. Going eastward to the Qifu Pavilion, Jingyi Pavilion forms a transitional space with elegant landscapes, leading people into Dianchun Hall and Hexu Hall.
The third sequence of spaces is centered on the singing stage, and the Dianchun Hall and the Treasure House form the ending space. At the same time, the Xuepu and Gujing Pavilion on the east side are its east-west space, surrounded by a water courtyard.
The fourth sequence is the most distinctive landscape sequence space of the park. It is neither north-south nor east-west, but a waterscape space that meanders from southeast to northwest along the water system. There are also some slightly hard elements in the waterscape space, combining soft and hard elements, and the connection is appropriate but not abrupt. Buildings and trees become the important interface and main scenery of this space, achieving a landscape space with different scenery and time and space rotation.
The fifth sequence is the inner garden of Yu Garden Shanghai China which is also an independent garden different from other main gardens. The inner garden has a compact layout and a long and narrow space. The concept of a garden within a garden is not very obvious in the inner courtyard of Yu Garden. The overall feeling is not strongly connected with the first to fourth sequences and is relatively independent.
The five sequential spaces are connected in some ways, but also different in some ways. They are harmonious yet different, and the same yet not harmonious. This vague feeling is the most intuitive experience that Yu Garden Shanghai brings to people. The space feels artificially divided, with a deliberate division of scenic areas.
The mountains in Yu Garden are represented by Yu Linglong and the large rockery, while the water is represented by the lotus pond. Yu Linglong is one of the three famous rocks in the south of the Yangtze River. It is about ten feet high, exquisitely carved, and porous all over. It has the beauty of wrinkles, leaks, transparency, and thinness, and is the best among stones. Yu Garden Shanghai is located in the alluvial plain of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Originally, there were no mountains. However, according to the ideas of the garden designer, a “large rockery” was built at the beginning of the construction of the garden.
It was made of yellow stones from Wukang, Zhejiang. It was designed and built by Zhang Nanyang, a famous stone stacking artist in the Ming Dynasty. Although it is called a “large rockery”, it is the real thing in the author’s mind, so the large rockery is also real. It can be said that “although it is made by man, it seems to be created by nature”. It is a classic work of stacking stones and mountains in the garden.
The rock scenes of Yu Garden are scattered throughout the park, with ups and downs. Most of the stacked stones in the whole park are of the same height and are relatively even, with only the northwest corner being slightly higher, with the stacked stones equivalent to the average height of two and a half parks. There are also some hills in the center of Yu Garden that are equivalent to one and a half stories of buildings, showing ups and downs and staggered.
Most of the mountains in the center of the park are located at the boundary area of each landscape. It can be seen that the main layout of the rocks is a combination of dispersion and concentration. Among them, the rockery in the northwest of Yu Garden is highly concentrated. At the same time, there are rockery with a volume slightly smaller than that of the northwest rockery group gathered in the middle of the park, on the south side of Wanhua Tower and on the north side of Deyue Tower.
The stacking of rocks in the park is unique. Whether it is extracted from the rock landscape elements alone or combined with the overall landscape of the park, it has a unique flavor. At the same time, the overall plan of Yu Garden Shanghai is arranged in a knife shape, emphasizing the deep and tortuous natural layout. The space transition is mostly separated by mountain scenery, revetments, small courtyards, lattice windows and other detailed landscapes.
There is little conflict between each scenic spot. Some scenic spots are even regarded as a separate garden. The artificial separation media with multiple combinations in terms of method, material and form not only shapes the trend of the landscape, but also integrates the structure of the north mountain and the south water into the entire courtyard, creating a space of staggered heights and secretly guiding the tourists’ tour route.
Classical Chinese gardens often use the techniques of “covering, separating, and breaking” to design and manage water in the garden. Yu Garden also has its own characteristics in water management. The entire water system of Yu Garden Shanghai is interconnected, and the water flow is relatively stable. The garden management staff has handled the waterfront well, mostly using stones of different materials or revetments, or embellishments, or piles to achieve the effect of “breaking”, making the winding streams, clear springs and pools appear to be full of strange rocks, achieving the effect of “lively charm and profound artistic conception”.
The entire water system of Yu Garden is interconnected, and the water flow is relatively stable. The water surface of China Yu Garden is mostly dispersed and blocky, and water appears in almost every landscape space. The construction of water space in Yu Garden Shanghai China is mostly combined with a variety of embankments or buildings on the embankments. As a cohesive space, the water space itself creates a dispersed or aggregated landscape space due to its own different sizes, and also organically connects different landscape nodes.
In addition, the construction of China Yu Garden water space is also actively combined with rock space. For example, some spaces are created using different rocks or revetment materials – either decoration, creation, or stacking, to achieve a “broken” effect. At the same time, the ingenious setting of the water outlet and the orderly changes of the revetment after the water and rock space are combined to form different openings and closings of the water body, as well as the mutual response between the water body shape and the land trail shape, reflecting the profound and dynamic characteristics of the water body.
Eastern Hall
The hall is the main place for living activities in the garden. It not only shelters from wind and rain, but also forms a natural frame with windows and doors. It is a place where nature attracts people to stay physically and mentally. The three buildings of Jiushixuan, Huijinglou and Yuhuatang naturally define their own spatial areas with their own orientation and visual boundaries. The management of the scenery also starts from the main body of the building and shapes its spatial characteristics under the given design conditions.
For example, the first area of Huanyun Rockery and the surrounding area of Yulinglong are based on the existing spatial pattern, and important landscape elements are added in groups to manage the new scenery, which respectively reflects the enrichment of the interaction between the buildings and the garden space of Jiushixuan and Yuhuatang.
On the whole, the management of the scenery in the eastern space is based on the original characteristics and integrates the ingenuity of garden construction. The three main spaces have their own characteristics.
Huijing Tower
Although the Nine Lions Pavilion and Huijing Tower belong to the same overall space, the scenery they face is cleverly managed due to the different relationships between the buildings and the waterfront. Looking south from the Nine Lions Pavilion, the pool, pavilion, and Deyue Tower are existing scenery, and the whitewashed walls and stacked rockery were built during the renovation, focusing on the treatment of the end of the sight.
In contrast, Huijing Tower is close to the water on three sides, and the scenery is surrounded by the view, focusing on the enrichment of the scenery without repetition. The space of the first area of Yuhua Hall is clear, and the landscape construction is retreated to the side of the boundary, as shown by the inscription on the east wall of Deyue Tower. Others, such as the thick pool bank in front of Yuhua Hall and the square wall in the southwest, have made Yulinglong absolutely dominate the courtyard space.
In the construction of the three pavilions and halls, the landscape management established their own keynotes, and then supplemented them with a detailed comparative consideration of the relationship between the pool and the bank. The platform in front of the Nine Lions Pavilion is suspended above the water, which coincides with the image of the platform looking southward. Walking south from the Huijing Pavilion to the poolside, the lake stone embankment forms rocks and beaches beside the water, which are low and flat and almost level with the water surface; the stone platform in front of the Yuhua Hall is also a reproduction of the spatial theme of the mutual reflection of the virtual and the real.
The detailed relationship between the three places is handled with contrast, and the depth, flatness, virtuality and reality of the space are strengthened by the reappearance of the shoreline shape and the relationship between the pool and the bank. The first area of the Laojun Hall is a typical example of spatial contrast with the main scenery. During the renovation in the 1980s, the “Xunyou” moon cave gate and the Guyinjian rockery were added. The first area of the Huijing Pavilion has a sense of flatness and tranquility.
Main Buildings
Lake Pavilion
The Huxinting Teahouse is known as the “No. 1 Teahouse in Shanghai”. It is the oldest and most famous teahouse in Shanghai. It is also one of the existing ancient architectural landscapes in Shanghai and the location of Shanghai’s earliest chamber of commerce. The Huxinting Teahouse stands in the middle of the water and is accessible by a nine-curve bridge. As the teahouse is located in a protected pavilion garden building of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has become one of the symbols of Shanghai’s humanities and history, with profound cultural connotations and cultural heritage characteristics.
The Lake Center Pavilion is the intersection of Shanghai’s traditional urban imagery and cultural venues. As a typical garden building in Shanghai’s old town, the Lake Center Pavilion is also a space that integrates contemporary urban life and inherits historical and cultural heritage. The three words “Lake Center Pavilion” are both a high-level summary of the construction characteristics of this garden building and a concentrated annotation of its field characteristics.
Sansuitang
Sansui Hall Scenic Area is located in the northeast of Yu Garden. The main building, Sansui Hall, was originally named Leshou Hall and was built in the 25th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1760), which means “the wise are happy and the benevolent are long-lived”. In the early Qing Dynasty, Sansui Hall was used as the office of the Shanghai County Government, which means “one grain with three ears”, expressing the wish of rising to prominence. In the late Qing Dynasty, it became a place for the soybean and rice industry to set standards and measure grains, and was called “Xiaohu Pavilion”.
The most common sculptures in the Sansui Hall scenic area are sculptures with positive social meanings, which are located at the main gate of Yu Garden, the roof of Sansui Hall, and the entrance of the veranda. For example, the brick carving of “Wu Ju Du San Yuan” at the entrance of the veranda is intended to encourage people to strive for fame and serve the country.
The second most common sculptures are sculptures with auspicious meanings, which are located on the mountain flowers of Sansui Hall and the roof of Juanyu Tower, which are consistent with the owner’s intention of “Yu Yue Lao Qin”. The ruyi head pattern on the mountain flowers of Sansui Hall represents auspiciousness, longevity and happiness. The roof of Juanyu Tower is carved with a pattern of an elephant carrying a evergreen. The word “elephant” is homophonic with the word “auspicious”, which means that everything will be renewed and auspicious and peaceful.
Wanhualou
Wanhua Tower Scenic Area is located in the north of China Yu Garden. Its features are exquisite decoration and ingenious layout, which gives people space for perception and imagination. The main building, Wanhua Tower, was rebuilt in the 23rd year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1843). It was named “Shenchi Hall” because humans and gods are only a few feet away. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, it was renamed “Wanhua Tower”. Wanhua Tower means “the depth of thousands of flowers”, which is basically consistent with Pan Yunduan’s original intention of construction.
The most common sculptures in the Wanhua Tower scenic area are those related to the Eight Immortals, which embody the owner’s aspiration to seek immortality and to indulge in the beauty of nature. The patterns of the Eight Immortals are consistent with the idea conveyed by Wanhua Tower after it was renamed “Shenchi Hall” in the late Qing Dynasty, which is intended to encourage future generations to do more good deeds and become gods.
Another major figure sculpture is the “fisherman, woodcutter, farmer and scholar” to the east of Liangyi Pavilion, which represents the basic lifestyle of the working people in ancient China. It is an official’s yearning for a simple and natural rural life after experiencing the ups and downs of officialdom. The Wanhua Tower scenic area as a whole embodies the owner’s aspiration to retire to the countryside and indulge in the beauty of nature, which can be reflected in the main Eight Immortals, the hidden Eight Immortals and various scroll patterns.
Dianchuntang
The main building in the Dianchuntang scenic area is Dianchuntang, which comes from Su Dongpo’s poem “Cui Dian Chun Yan”. It is a place for family reunions and banquets during festivals. In front of it is a small stage called “Dachangtai”, which is carved with complex patterns, reflecting the penetration of popular culture in the garden during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The most common sculptures in Dianchuntang are sculptures with the meaning of warding off evil spirits, as many as 15, mainly concentrated in Hexutang and Dachangtai, and also scattered on the roofs of other buildings.
These tile generals are divided into “civil officials” and “military generals”. Many of the distinguishable military generals are characters from the Three Kingdoms, such as Guan Yu and Lu Bu, who have the function of warding off evil spirits and exorcising ghosts, and have the status of house guardian gods in people’s hearts. The civil officials among the tile generals also imply passing the imperial examination and having a smooth career.
The sculptures that appear most frequently in the Dianchun Hall scenic area symbolize wealth and endless life, with a total of 9. For example, there are two deer and two cranes on the left and right sides of the Dianchun Gate Tower; the long scroll in the upper square is a lively scene of welcoming meritorious people. The patterns and patterns of the brick carvings are full of joy and festive atmosphere, which is basically consistent with the implication of prosperity and prosperity in the scenic area and the spring when all things come to life.
The images of other sculptures also echo the theme of the scenic area. For example, the main ridge of the Hexu Hall is carved with “the three gods of fortune, wealth and longevity” and “the two gods of harmony and unity”. The former are three gods with great influence on the people in ancient times, reflecting people’s common wishes, and the latter are two smiling children with dishevelled hair, symbolizing the secular life ideal of “family harmony and happy marriage”.
Cultural Relic Value
Shanghai Yu Garden is one of the five largest gardens in Jiangnan, with unique artistic features and research value. Yu Garden is a unique private garden in Jiangnan. It is known as the “urban forest” and praised as “the most beautiful garden in the southeast”. It is the only Ming-style Garden in Shanghai.
Yu Garden Shanghai is a famous landmark in Shanghai. After experiencing reconstruction and destruction during the Renaissance, facing existential crises and undergoing transformations in different periods, it has been limitedly updated in the new era and protected as a heritage site. Although its development process seems to be similar to the iterative “pattern” of most garden spaces in Jiangnan, Yu Garden’s own uniqueness is also very significant: in the development of Shanghai, Yu Garden Shanghai has maintained a high degree of interaction with the urban space, especially in the historical development stage of the Old Town area where Yu Garden Shanghai is located since the construction of the city in the late Ming Dynasty.
Its unique spatial characteristics have been continued across time and space to this day, allowing China Yu Garden to complete the transformation from a “traditional garden” to a “historical heritage” in its interaction with the city of Shanghai.
As a traditional historical garden space, Yu Garden Shanghai China is preserved within the urban space. The historical buildings, landscapes, ponds, flowers, trees, and stones in its garden space have continuously changed in different historical periods, causing the boundaries of the garden to be adjusted many times with the development of the city, and its own attributes have also undergone multiple changes. On the one hand, the inclusiveness of Yu Garden’s Garden space makes it a place to carry and place fragments of urban historical relics and memories.
Especially after 1949, a large number of garden building materials obtained from different areas of the city were placed in Yu Garden, such as Yuan Dynasty stone lions, Wulao Peak, and relics from other historical gardens. On the other hand, with Yu Garden Management Office as the main supporting unit, historical relics such as “Chenxiang Pavilion” have also been integrated into the “Yu Garden” cultural relic protection unit through cultural relic surveys and registration.
Whether it is the history of continuous reconstruction of Yu Garden’s garden space during the late Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, and even the Republic of China, or the partial rescue renovation of Yu Garden that began in the 1950 especially Chen Congzhou’s overall reconstruction of the eastern part of Yu Garden in the 1980s, which, to some extent, was “based on a profound understanding of history, culture, and reality, and sought to integrate relevant constraints (at the goal level and technical level) and use a variety of methods (renovation, continuation, and reconstruction) to complete the mission of contemporary cultural inheritance.”
As a contemporary heritage, Yu Garden Shanghai plays a unique role in constructing new cultural values and historical interpretation. On the one hand, its evolutionary history provides a complete genealogy for constructing a framework for interpreting the value of traditional gardens; on the other hand, the changes within the genealogy provide an evaluation basis for the evaluation of value changes. Compared with the stable value systems of other traditional Chinese gardens (such as Suzhou gardens), the continuous changes in Yu Garden’s contemporary conservation practices have brought about a value interpretation framework that is more open and inclusive, and is better adapted to the cultural values and historical interpretation of contemporary Chinese gardens.
China Yu Garden provides both the good material life of the city and the quiet and elegant natural scenery of the countryside. The main feature is the architecture, which is characterized by a variety of layers and rich and exquisite spaces. Chinese classical gardens have better solved the balance needs and affinity with nature in human nature, and Yu Garden can be regarded as a typical representative.
History of Name of The Yu Garden Shanghai and Culture
The name Yu Garden means “to make the elderly happy and enjoy their old age” (“Yu” means peace and tranquility, and has the same meaning as “Yu”), conveying the spirit of longevity in the garden. In his “Yu Garden Records”, he wrote that “the plaque reads ‘Yu Garden’ to please my old parents”. Pan Yunduan hoped that his parents could spend their old age in this garden, but unfortunately, his father Pan En died when the garden was just built, and Pan Yunduan “was really angry with heaven”.
Therefore, Yu Garden Shanghai actually became Pan Yunduan’s own residence to spend his old age. During his tenure, he often had the idea of building a garden, but he was unable to do so due to trivial matters. It was not until he was “dismissed and returned home” that he officially started construction.
The layout of Yu Garden is based on the location of the site, the layout is uneven, and the style is first suppressed and then elevated. It ultimately achieves the effect of “lively spirit and profound artistic conception” and “although it is created by man, it seems to be created by nature”, which euphemistically and appropriately expresses the owner’s state of mind.
Cultural Concept
The most representative brick carvings of ancient gods and immortals in Yu Garden include “Gods and Immortals”, “Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea”, “Guanghan Palace”, etc. They are male and female, civil and military, and each has a legendary color from their image to their own experience, which is close to people’s lives and has the romantic color of mythology.
In addition, there are decorative patterns with cloud and water patterns on the pediments of many buildings in Yu Garden. As decorative patterns abstracted from the white clouds and flowing water in nature, their lines are both smooth and elegant, flexible and stretched, and the carving is rigorous. These depictions of people’s life scenes and the lives of immortals are mostly influenced by literati paintings and landscape poems. Some even directly express the content described in the poems, and skillfully express the literati’s aesthetic taste and landscape artistic conception in architectural sculpture art.
In terms of creative expression, it is both based on real life and higher than reality, and it is abstracted and extracted to a certain extent; in terms of carving techniques, relief and line carving are mostly used, and a few are combined with openwork carving, with diverse materials and varied forms.
Architectural carvings of auspicious animals can be seen almost everywhere in Yu Garden, such as the “cloud crane” carving on the lintel of Hexi Hall, the “deer and crane in spring”, “phoenix pattern”, “rose, peony and bird pattern” on the pediment of the building, etc. These auspicious animals have certain symbolic meanings in ancient Chinese traditional culture.
In addition, there are also some carvings of traditional auspicious patterns, such as the “four seasons of peace” pattern on the partition door of Yangshan Hall, the “longevity” pattern and “blessing and longevity” pattern on the stained-glass window, and some ancient treasure patterns. These patterns are composed of metaphors such as transfer of meaning and homophony, abstracted from specific characters, animals and other images, and have the characteristics of Chinese traditional culture.
Opera Stories
There is an ancient stage in the inner garden area of Yu Garden. It was built in the late 19th century and faces south. It is known as the “first ancient stage in Jiangnan”. There are carvings such as “Two Dragons Playing with Pearls” on the stage’s lintel and “Lion Hydrangea” under the eaves. Not only is the stage building decorated with carvings but the stories played on the stage are also common in architectural carving themes. The ancients used fragments from works such as “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, “The Palace of Eternal Life”, “The West Chamber”, and “The Legend of the White Snake” as creative themes, combining them with local characteristics to form different forms and styles.
In addition, many historical celebrities’ deeds also appear widely in the themes, such as “Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove” and “Li Bai Drunkenly Writing Poems”. The carvings of the characters in the plays are relatively exquisite and outstanding. The patterns not only reflect the craftsmanship of the craftsmen, but also reflect the social outlook and life scenes of the time.
Yu Garden Location
Yu Garden is located at No. 168 Fuyou Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai.
Opening hours
9:00-16:30 (no admission at 16:00, clearance at 16:30); closed on Mondays (except national holidays); online real-name reservations for visits are available from 9:00-12:30 in the morning and 12:30-16:00 in the afternoon.
Yu Garden Tickets
The entrance fee to Yu Garden is RMB 40 (peak season, April 1 to June 30, September 1 to November 30) or RMB 30 (off-season, July 1 to August 31, December 1 to March 31); seniors over 60 years old and full-time school students can enjoy a 50% discount with valid ID.
Traffic Information
Yu Garden can be reached by taking bus No. 980, 930, 736, 24, 11, Metro Line 1, and Metro Line 10 (get off at Yu Garden Station). Yu Garden does not have a dedicated parking lot. Visitors can take public transportation or choose to use paid parking lots around the scenic area.
Enchanting places of Yu Garden: China Yu Garden is full of surprises. For sure you will be amazed by the beauty of this garden. Already I have described the six parts of the garden. Every part has its uniqueness, each part is distinguished by wavy “dragon walls” and completed with a dragon’s head. Without these, there are some more attractions here such as Yuyuan Bazaar and City God Temple of Shanghai (Chenghuang Miao).
Yuyuan Bazaar and Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
Yuyuan Bazaar is located outside of Yu Garden Shanghai and is known as Yuyuan Market. Chinese traditional architecture and designs are mingled here. There are plenty of shops, local food stalls, antiques, arts and crafts, souvenirs, jewelry, silk, whatever you want. You can purchase gift items and souvenirs for your family and friends. You can observe the real Chinese lifestyle very clearly here. You can taste the local snack items like steamed crab stuffed bun, crab bean curd, crispy fried cake, chop rice cakes, and Yangchun Noodles. Xiaolongbao (small steamed buns) is very famous for its special ingredients made by Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant.
The most impressive part is exploring the Yuyuan bazaar at night, all the traditional buildings decorated with nice and colorful lighting, You can’t resist taking photographs of this beautiful scenery.
Would you love to read more about Skyscraper Shanghai Tower China? You can surf Here…