City God Temple

As a combination of garden, temple and market providing a variety of food options, Yuyuan Garden and Chenghuang Temple present strong local characteristics. The ancient classical garden, as the most famous historic structure in Shanghai, attracts millions of tourists from China and abroad every year. Its exquisite layout, beautiful scenery, and the artistic style of the garden architecture form part of its charm. At the same time, the garden together with nearby Chenghuang Temple lies in the old area of Shanghai where shoppers flock to purchase traditional Chinese products as well as gold and jewels.

Yuyuan Garden

Yuyuan Garden is a beautiful traditional garden positioned in Anren Jie, Shanghai. It is believed that this spectacular garden was built some 400 years ago. The breathtaking layout, stunning scenery, unmatched garden architecture and tranquility at Yuyuan Garden have made it one of the most popular tourist attractions in Shanghai.

Yuyuan, which literally means Happy Garden, was built during the Ming Dynasty. It was built by government official Pan Yunduan. It is recorded that he built this peaceful garden for his parents in their old age to make them feel relaxed and happy.

Situated in the heart of Shanghai Old City, Yuyuan Garden occupies about 20,000 square meters. The entire garden boasts about 40 different attractions.

During its long 400 years, the garden has experienced some severe changes. It was terribly run down during the latter part of the Ming Dynasty mainly with the decline of the Pan family. A team of wealthy merchants purchased the garden in 1760 and it is said that they spent nearly 20 years revamping the buildings. Yuyuan was heavily destroyed as a result of the 19th-century Opium War. Following the war the garden underwent a five-year renovation in 1956. It was open for public viewing in September 1961.

Even though the garden is small, its attractions are enchanting. The impressive pavilions, stunning man- made ponds, dragon-lined walls and bridges all have distinct features. The impressively shaped Jade Rock is a unique highlight. Legend says that this smooth five-ton rock dates back some 1,000 years.

The original garden was severely damaged. The Yuyuan Garden you see today is the restored one from 1956. Now occupying an area of 20,000 square meters, Yuyuan has more than 40 deftly designed ancient constructions, like the giant Rockery, the Iron Lions, Exquisite Jade Rock, and the Deyue Pavilion, all of which are divided by dragon walls, winding corridors and beautiful flowers. Among them, Exquisite Jade Rock is the true treasure of the garden. The rock is 3.3 meters high with 72 holes as clear as jade. The unique feature of this rock is that if you burn a joss stick just below the rock, the smoke will magically float out from all the holes. Similarly, if you pour water into the rock from the top, the water will flow out from each hole.

Yuyuan Garden is regarded as the most beautiful garden south of the Yangtze River. The pavilions, halls, stones and streams form a unique picture featuring "one step, one beauty; every step, every beauty." It vividly shows the quintessence of southern Chinese landscape design in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.