China Guide
Shanghai
Yu Yuan (Jade Garden)
Opening time: Daily 8.30am–5.30pm
Price: ¥40
A classical Chinese garden featuring pools, walkways, bridges and rockeries, the Yu Yuan (Jade Garden) was created in the sixteenth century by a high official in the imperial court in honour of his father. The Yu Yuan is less impressive than the gardens of nearby Suzhou, but given that it predates the relics of the International Settlement by some three hundred years, the Shanghainese are understandably proud of it. Despite fluctuating fortunes, the garden has surprisingly survived the passage of the centuries. It was spared from its greatest crisis – the Cultural Revolution – apparently because the anti-imperialist "Little Sword Society" had used it as their headquarters in 1853 during the Taiping Uprising. Garden connoisseurs today will appreciate the whitewashed walls topped by undulating dragons made of tiles, and the huge, craggy and indented rock in front of the Yuhua Tang (Hall of Jade Magnificence). During the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the traditional New Year, ten thousand lanterns (and an even larger number of spectators) brighten up the garden.