Yu Garden, located in the northeastern part of the Shanghai Yuyuan Tourism and Business District, is adjacent to the Shanghai City God Temple and the Yuyuan Tourism Shopping Mall. It is a well-known classical garden in Jiangnan, famous both domestically and internationally as a historical site. In 1982, it was approved by the State Council as a ‘National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit’. Yu Garden was originally constructed during the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing and Wanli reigns, with a history of over 450 years.
The garden’s owner, Pan Yunduan, once served as the governor of Sichuan. To ensure his father could enjoy his later years in peace, Pan Yunduan began constructing the garden on his family’s vegetable field in the year Jiwei (1559) during the Jiajing era, gathering stones, carving ponds, building pavilions, and planting bamboo. After more than two decades of meticulous management, Yu Garden was completed. The name ‘Yu’ implies ‘peace’ and ‘prosperity’, and the garden was named ‘Yu Garden’ with the meaning of ‘Yu Yule Old Kin’. Initially, Yu Garden covered an area of over seventy acres and was meticulously designed and personally constructed by Zhang Nanyang, a renowned garden designer of the Ming Dynasty. The garden is grand in scale and beautiful in scenery. Today, Yu Garden covers an area of 2 hectares, with its pavilions scattered, rocks towering, and trees lush, known for its tranquility, beauty, and exquisiteness, reflecting the artistic style of Jiangnan garden architecture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Yu Garden still preserves historical sites such as the ‘Book Collection Building’, the birthplace of ‘Shanghai School Calligraphy and Painting’, and the ‘Dianchun Hall’, the headquarters of the Shanghai Small Sword Society Uprising. Ancient poets have praised Yu Garden as ‘the most extraordinary and beautiful in the southeast’ and ‘the crown of the famous gardens in the southeast’. Many domestic and international political leaders and celebrities have visited Yu Garden, making it a rare traditional cultural business card for Shanghai. Opening hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 09:00-16:30; closed on Mondays.Preferential policies: Students: 1. Minors aged 6 (not included) to 18 (included), with their ID card, household registration book, or passport. 2. Full-time undergraduate and below students (excluding adult education, postgraduates) with their student ID and ID card, enjoy half-price.
Elderly: Seniors aged 60 (included) and above, with their ID card, enjoy half-price.
Children: Children with a height of 1.3 meters (included) or under 6 years old (included) (must be accompanied by an adult, one adult can accompany up to three children; not in groups), enjoy half-price.
Free for people with disabilities: After registration and verification with valid documents, they can enter the garden.
Free for active-duty military personnel, disabled military personnel, martyrs’ families, families of military personnel who died in service, families of military personnel who died of illness, and families of active-duty military personnel: After registration and verification with valid documents, they can enter the garden.
Free for firefighters (including fire rescue academy students): After registration and verification with valid documents, they can enter the garden.
Service facilities: Restrooms are distributed on the east side of the Wanhua Building and the east side of the Hanbi Building.
