Yuyuan Garden

The Yuyuan Garden, or simply the Yu Garden, is a 5 acre space of absolute beauty, history and serenity in Shanghai.

The Yu Garden is historic in every right. It was built back in the 16th century by the Ming Dynasty. Over the years, it has seen lots of ups and downs, but after a 5 year renovation project between 1956 to 1961, the Garden opened as one of Shanghai's prime destinations. There are many points of interest laid out throughout the garden. Indeed, the way it's engineered with pavillians, pillars, ponds, rockeries and halls makes it quite a sight to behold. The 12 metre high rockery in the Sansui Hall is one of the largest rockeries in China and from the top provides a lovely panoramic view of the entire garden. The prime attraction of the garden is the 3.3m, 5 ton jade stone, which has many holes in it. Other areas which provide picturesque views are the Dianchun Hall, Huijung Hall, Wanhua Hall, Yuhua Hall which still holds rosewood furniture from the times of the Ming Dynasty and the Inner Garden. The last of these was initially built separately, but was later incoporated into the garden. It's adorned with it's own ponds, rockeries and pavillions.