Since
the 18th century, this complex, with its traditional red walls and upturned
tile roofs, has been a marketplace and social center where local residents
gather, shop, and practice qi gong in the evenings. Although not as impressive
as the ancient palace gardens of Beijing, Yu Garden is a piece of Shanghai's
past, one of the few old sights left in the city.
To get to the garden, you must wind your way through the bazaar. The ticket
booth is just north of the lake and the pleasant Huxingting Chashi (teahouse).
The garden was commissioned by the Ming dynasty official Pan Chongtan in 1559
and built by the renowned architect, Zhang Nanyang, over 19 years. When it was
finally finished it won international praise as "the best garden in
southeastern China," an accolade that would be hard to defend today, especially
when compared with the beautiful gardens of Suzhou. In the mid-1800s the
Society of Small Swords used the garden as a gathering place for meetings. It
was here that they planned their uprising with the Taiping rebels against the
French colonialists.
The French destroyed the garden during the first Opium War, but the area was
later rebuilt and renovated. Winding walkways and corridors bring you over
stone bridges and carp-filled ponds and through bamboo forests and rock
gardens. Within the park are an old opera stage, a museum dedicated to the
Society of Small Swords rebellion, and the Chenghuang Miao (Temple of Town
Guardian). The temple was built during the early part of the Ming dynasty but
was later destroyed.
