CHINA

Shanghai. SIGHTS OF INTEREST. Yuyuan Garden
 

The garden was founded in 1559 – 1577 during the Ming Dynasty. The garden was created by a rich official, Pan Yuduan for his old parents. The garden of peace and comfort. In Chinese “yu” means peace and health. The park occupies 2 hectares only but it seems to be very large! It’s a classical example of landscape design of South China that reflects the variety and diversity of nature of the south. You’ll notice an exquisite layout, beautiful scenery and artistic architecture typical for that garden style design of that time. 

The park is divided into 6 areas by so called dragon walls. These parts are the Grand Rockery, the Ten Thousand-Flower Pavilion, the Hall of Heralding Spring, the Hall of Jade Magnificence, the Inner Garden and the Lotus Pool.

Just some more words about each of them. The Grand Rockery is 14-meter-high elaborate rockery with features of perilous peaks, cliffs, winding caves and gorges, that is made from 2 000 tons of stone. It’s made so natural and looks so attractive that you can’t help feeling as if you are in the real mountain!

The eastern wall of the Ten Thousand-Flower Pavilion is decorated with a dragon’s head and paved with scale-like tiles that make an illusion of a huge dragon wandering in the garden that’s why the wall is called as the Dragon Wall. You know, that all dragons painted in the royal palaces had five claws. As for this one it has only four claws! We think, Pan Yuduan made it to remain respect to the royal families in particular and feudal society in common. 

The Hall of Heralding Spring contains weapons and coins made by the Society of Little Swords, the society that led an uprising against the Qing Dynasty and occupied Shanghai during 17 months in 1853. 

The Hall of Jade Magnificence is a study entirely furnished with rare rosewood pieces dating to the Ming Dynasty.

The Inner Garden is a small version of Yuyuan Garden. Varies of rockeries, ponds and walls of the Inner Garden make it delicate and exquisite in its beauty. 

Yuyuan Garden is an architectural miracle of the Yangtze River region in the southeast. You’ll get an indelible impression of peace and tranquility coming here!