Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden (,
Shanghainese
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...
''Yuyoe'' ,
lit. ''Garden of Happiness''
) is an extensive
Chinese garden
The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...
located beside the
City God Temple
The Chenghuangshen (), is a tutelary deity or deities in Chinese folk religion who is believed to protect the people and the affairs of the particular village, town or city of great dimension, and the corresponding afterlife location.
Beginning ...
in the northeast of the
Old City of Shanghai
The Old City of Shanghai (; Shanghainese: ''Zånhae Lo Zenshian''), also formerly known as the Chinese city, is the traditional urban core of Shanghai. Its boundary was formerly defined by a defensive wall. The Old City was the county seat for t ...
at
Huangpu District, Shanghai
Huangpu District (), makes up the eastern part of Shanghai's traditional urban core and is today the most central of Shanghai's 16 districts. Huangpu district is the seat of municipal government, includes key attractions such as The Bund and the ...
. It abuts the
Yuyuan Tourist Mart
Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart Co., Ltd. is the largest retailer, retailing conglomerate in China.
The company has presence in a variety of business sectors such as department stores and entertainment Retailing, shops in Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai, th ...
, the Huxinting Teahouse and the Yu Garden Bazaar.
This garden is accessible from the
Shanghai Metro's
Line 10 and
Line 14 Yuyuan Garden station
Yuyuan Garden () is a station on Line 10 and Line 14 of the Shanghai Metro. It is located near the famous Yuyuan Garden in Huangpu District, Shanghai. The station entered operation on 10 April 2010.
This station became an interchange station ...
.
A centerpiece is the Exquisite Jade Rock () a porous 3.3-m, 5-ton boulder. Rumours about its origin include the story that it was meant for the
Huizong Emperor
Emperor Huizong of Song (7 June 1082 – 4 June 1135), personal name Zhao Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Northern Song dynasty of China. He was also a very well-known calligrapher. Born as the 11th son of Emperor Shenzong, he ascended the ...
(
Northern Song Dynasty
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
from 1100 to 1126 AD) at the imperial garden in
Bianjing
Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...
, but was salvaged from the Huangpu River after the boat carrying it had sunk.
History
Yu Garden was first built in 1559 during the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
by
Pan Yunduan
Pan Yunduan (Chinese: , Pān Yǔnduān) was a Ming-era governor of Sichuan from Shanghai.
He constructed the original Yu Garden
Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden (, Shanghainese ''Yuyoe'' , lit. ''Garden of Happiness'') is an extensive Chinese garden ...
as a comfort for his father, the minister
Pan En Pan En (Chinese: , Pān Ēn) was a Ming-era government official from Shanghai. He served under the Jiajing Emperor.
His son Pan Yunduan constructed the Yu Garden
Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden (, Shanghainese ''Yuyoe'' , lit. ''Garden of Happiness' ...
, in his old age. Pan Yunduan began the project after failing one of the
imperial exam
The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...
s, but his appointment as
governor of Sichuan The politics of Sichuan Province in the People's Republic of China is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.
The Governor of Sichuan is the highest-ranking official in the People's Gove ...
postponed construction for nearly twenty years until 1577. The garden was the largest and most prestigious of its era in Shanghai, but eventually its expense helped ruin the Pans.
The garden was inherited by
Zhang Zhaolin
Pan Yunduan (Chinese: , Pān Yǔnduān) was a Ming-era governor of Sichuan from Shanghai.
He constructed the original Yu Garden for his father, Pan En Pan En (Chinese: , Pān Ēn) was a Ming-era government official from Shanghai. He served under t ...
, Pan Yunduan's granddaughter's husband, and then passed to different owners. A section was briefly organised by
Zhang Shengqu as the "Academy of Purity and Harmony" (, ''Qīng-Hé Shūyuàn'') and the Ling Yuan (, ''Líng Yuàn'',
lit. "Spirit Park"), today's East Garden, was purchased by a group of local leaders in 1709. A group of merchants renovated the increasingly decrepit grounds in 1760 and in 1780 the West Garden was opened to the general public.
The gardens suffered damage numerous times during the 19th century. During the
First Opium War
The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
, the British army used the Huxinting Teahouse as a base of operations for several days in 1842. During the
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...
, the
Small Swords Society
Small Swords Society or Small Knife Society was a political and military organisation active in Shanghai, China, and neighbouring areas amid the Taiping Rebellion, between about 1840 and 1855. Members of the society, rebelling against the Qing dy ...
ran its headquarters in the Dianchun Hall; by the time Qing troops recovered the garden, the original structures had nearly all been destroyed. They were damaged again by the Japanese in 1942 before being repaired by Liangshun Han (Rockery Han
[山石韩,Rockery Han, http://www.rockeryhan.com]) appointed by the
Shanghai government from 1956 to 1961. They were opened to the public in 1961 and declared a national monument in 1982.
Design
![Yu Gardens 20090724-18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Yu_Gardens_20090724-18.JPG)
Today, Yu Garden occupies an area of 2
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s (5
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
s), and is divided into six general areas laid out in the
Suzhou style:
* Sansui Hall (, ''Sān Suì Táng'',
lit. "Three Tassel Hall")includes the Grand Rockery (, ''Dà Jiǎshān'' ), a 12-meter-high rockery made of huangshi stone, featuring peaks, cliffs, winding caves, and gorges. This scenery was possibly created by
Zhang Nanyang
Zhang Nanyang (, Zhāng Nányáng) was a famed Ming Chinese stone gardener.
He was employed by Pan Yunduan
Pan Yunduan (Chinese: , Pān Yǔnduān) was a Ming-era governor of Sichuan from Shanghai.
He constructed the original Yu Garden for his fa ...
during the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
.
* Wanhua Chamber (, ''Wàn Huā Lóu'',
lit. "Chamber of the Ten Thousand Flowers")
* Dianchun Hall (, ''Diǎn Chūn Táng'',
lit. "Heralding Spring Hall")built in 1820, the first year of the
Daoguang Emperor
The Daoguang Emperor (; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanxong of Qing, born Mianning, was the seventh Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning ...
; served as the base of the
Small Swords Society
Small Swords Society or Small Knife Society was a political and military organisation active in Shanghai, China, and neighbouring areas amid the Taiping Rebellion, between about 1840 and 1855. Members of the society, rebelling against the Qing dy ...
from September 1853 to February 1855
* Huijing Hall (, ''Huì Jǐng Lóu'')
* Yuhua Hall (, ''Yù Huá Táng'',
lit. "Jade Magnificence Hall")furnished with
rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues.
True rosewoods
All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...
pieces from the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
, shares its name with a mountain near
Xinye
Xinye () is one of the counties of Nanyang that lies in the southwest of Henan province, China. To the south lies the prefecture-level city of Xiangyang in Hubei province, to the east is Tanghe County and to the west is the county-level city of ...
in
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
.
* Inner Garden (, ''Nèi Yuán'')rockeries, ponds, pavilions, and towers; first laid out in 1709 and more recently recreated in 1956 by combining its east and west gardens.
Each area is separated from the others by "dragon walls" with undulating gray tiled ridges, each terminating in a dragon's head.
Features
Gallery
File:Huxinting Teahouse at the Yu Garden pond, Old City, Shanghai.jpg, Built in 1855, the Huxinting Teahouse at the Yu Garden pond remains in use in 2018
File:Vendor at the Yuyuan Bazaar near Yu Garden, Shanghai.jpg, A vendor at the Yuyuan Bazaar near Yu Garden, 2018
File:Yuyuan Gardens - water reflection.JPG, Crooked bridge & rounded gate
File:Yuyuan Garden.jpg, Koi
or more specifically , are colored varieties of the Amur carp ('' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'') that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens.
Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of ''C. rubrofuscus'' ke ...
in the large pond
File:Yuyuangardenpic2.jpg, One of the dragon wall end-pieces
File:上海豫园玉玲珑-1.jpg, The Exquisite Jade Rock
File:Yuyuan Garden - Rocks.jpg, One of the rockeries
File:The door of dragon wall.jpg, The door of the dragon wall
See also
*
Classical Gardens of Suzhou
The Classical Gardens of Suzhou ( Chinese: 苏州园林; pinyin: ''Sūzhōu yuánlín''; Suzhounese ( Wugniu): ''sou1-tseu1 yoe2-lin2'') are a group of gardens in the city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu, China, which have been added to the UNESCO World Her ...
*
List of Chinese gardens
This is a list of Chinese-style gardens both within China and elsewhere in the world.
Greater China
This list is organized by region within the Greater China region, roughly following the structure laid out by Maggie Keswick in ''The Chinese Gar ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Portal bar, China, Architecture, Gardening
1577 establishments in China
Landmarks in Shanghai
Gardens in Shanghai
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shanghai
Huangpu District, Shanghai