Yuyuan Garden, this is the most traditional Chinese garden in Shanghai

In our opinion, one of the must-visits in your trip to shanghai is the yuyuan garden, which you find in the old City.

It is a historic area where numerous traditional buildings are grouped together, and where the commercial area is also located. Yuyuan Market.

El yuyuan garden It is a private garden that was built during the ming dynasty on behalf of Pan Yuduan, and which was completed in 1577, after twenty years of work.

Subsequently, it had to be rebuilt several times because, for example, it suffered deterioration during the Opium War with the British, in 1842, or in the War with JapanIn 1942.

El Shanghai Yuyuan Garden It was conditioned for the last time in 1961, the year in which it was opened to the public, and in 1982 it was declared National Monument.

With an area of ​​20.000 square meters, it is one of the best examples of what is considered a typical chinese garden.

This is characterized by having rocky areas (rockeries), small ponds, pavilions, wooded areas, bamboo, incense burners, sculptures of typical plants, such as chrysanthemums, and decorated walls that surround it.

What to see in Yuyuan Garden

In your visit to Yuyuan Garden, to get to the current access door, you must first pass through the commercial area of Yuyuan Market.

You will also walk next to the pond in the center of which is located the beautiful typical chinese building of the Huxinting Tea House, which in the past was integrated into the garden.

In front of this building you find the aforementioned access door to the yuyuan garden.

On your walk through its interior, you will move along paths that surround small ponds with the typical areas of rockeries.

Others covered walkways link the different pavilions, in which you will find large patios with typical Chinese decorations, as well as sculptures.

Five Dragons Wall

All this within a walled enclosure with the characteristic shapes of a dragon.

Precisely the one known as Five Dragons Wall It is one of the most prominent elements of the Yuyuan Garden. It is an internal separation wall of the yuyuan garden, which acquires the wavy shape of the typical chinese dragon, in which the spectacular sculptures of dragon heads stand out.

El Chinese dragon It is a mythological creature in Chinese culture, and is characterized by its wavy shape, as if it were a snake, and its four claws.

You will find one of the most outstanding examples of the figure of the Chinese dragon in the spectacular Nine Dragons Panel of the Forbidden City of Beijing.

In relation to dragons of Yuyuan Garden, there is a story that tells that, after the construction of the wall, which was done during the dynasty QingInitially, dragons had five claws.

This was irreverent, since the five-clawed dragon was a right traditionally reserved for the Emperor.

Because of this, the Emperor sent an emissary to Shanghai to contrast this fact, and finally the dragons of Yuyuan Garden They kept all four claws.

It was argued that they were not actually dragons, but snakes. At least, that's the first feeling you'll get when you see the wall for the first time: I bet they look like snakes to you.

Jade Rock in Yuyuan

Another notable corner of this chinese garden It is called Exquisite Jade Rock.

Considered its greatest “treasure”, for Western tourists who visit this historic and traditional Chinese garden, perhaps there are other decorative elements that are more striking to us, such as, for example, the aforementioned wall of dragons.

La Exquisite Jade Rock of the Shanghai Yuyuan Garden It is one of the three “famous” large jade rocks south of the Yangtze River. The other two are located in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

The great rock of yuyuan garden It has a height of 3,3 meters and one of its main characteristics is the 72 holes it shows.

In this way, if for example a bonfire is lit under it, the smoke flows through all the holes, creating shapes that were highly appreciated by Pan Yunduan, the aforementioned mandarin creator of the  yuyuan garden.

For this reason, he arranged a pavilion facing the rock so he could sit and contemplate it.

Huxinting Tea House in Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai

Next to the pond what stands out the most is a beautiful traditional chinese building, with great ornamentation and a bright red color. It's about the Huxinting Tea House.

Originally both the pond and the Huxinting Tea House they were part of yuyuan garden. When it was built during the Ming Dynasty, this building was known as the Fuyi Pavilion and was used as a gathering place by textile merchants in the area.

After being remodeled in 1785, it was later, in 1855, that it became a tea house. Since then, the Huxingting Tea House It has become one of the most charismatic places in Shanghai.

At Huxingting Tea House They only serve tea and companions, it is not a restaurant. The ideal is to go up to the second floor and sit next to one of the windows to enjoy the views of the great atmosphere around the lake.

Yuyuan Market in Shanghai, this is the shopping area next to Yuyuan Garden

What really surprises us about this entire area is the beauty of the traditional chinese houses, with its wooden frames of a striking red color.

The busiest street in this historic Shanghai area es Fangbin Road, also known as the "Shanghai old street“. Although it is also a shopping street, it has nothing to do with the Nanjing street From the center of the city.

With less than a kilometer in length, in Fangbin Road, within the area of Shanghai Yuyuan Market, the houses built in the last stage of the imperial era, the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, stand out, but with a design from the medieval era of the Quin dynasty, with its large wooden balustrades.

In short, an interesting prelude to our visit to the Yuyuan Garden.