China Travel Guide
Attraction · Shanghai Yu Garden

Yu Garden

Ming dynasty rockeries, pavilions and the zigzag bridge of City God Temple area.

Visitor info

Opening hours
08:45-16:15
Ticket
40 CNY
Suggested visit
2 hours

Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.

Why it's worth it

A 1559 Ming-dynasty private garden stuffed into the old Chinese city — rockeries, moon gates, koi ponds and the Exquisite Jade Rock, wrapped by the bazaar alleys of the City God Temple district where Shanghai goes for xiaolongbao and kitsch.

Don't miss

  • The Exquisite Jade Rock — a porous boulder said to burn incense through all 72 holes
  • The zigzag bridge and Mid-Lake Teahouse at the entrance, all curves to confuse evil spirits (and photographers' delight)
  • Nanxiang's takeaway window xiaolongbao — the 100-year-old original steamer queues out the door

Getting there

Metro Line 10 or 14 to Yuyuan Garden station, Exit 3; the bazaar swallows you immediately.

Tips

  • Go early morning or late afternoon; midday tour groups jam the narrow corridors
  • Garden entry is separate from the bazaar — the garden needs a timed ticket, the lanes are free
  • The xiaolongbao queue splits: window (fast, standing) vs restaurant upstairs (proper baskets, longer wait)

Photos

Yu Garden — photo 2Yu Garden — photo 3Yu Garden — photo 4

More in Shanghai

  • Shanghai Tower

    China's tallest building; observation deck on the 118th floor.

  • Zhujiajiao Water Town

    17-bridge canal town 45 km from downtown; gondolas under Ming bridges.

  • The Bund

    Colonial riverfront facing Pudong's sci-fi skyline; walk it at dusk both ways.

  • The Bund

    Shanghai's calling card and a microcosm of its modern history: a 1.5 km riverside stretch on the west bank of the Huangpu River, running north from Waibaidu Bridge (Garden Bridge) to Yan'an East Road, is lined with 52 historic buildings in Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco and other styles, collectively known as the "World Architecture Exhibition"

  • Lujiazui 'Big Three' Viewing

    The heart of Pudong's financial-district skyline: Shanghai Tower, at 632 m China's tallest building, rises in a twisting spiral form that reduces wind load; its 546 m "Top of Shanghai" observatory ranks among the world's highest, and on floor 125 you can see the thousand-ton damper nicknamed the "magic needle that steadies the building"

  • Oriental Pearl Tower

    A 468 m TV tower completed in 1994, once the tallest tower in Asia: three 9 m-diameter slanted columns support 11 spheres of varying sizes, inspired by the verse "pearls large and small falling onto a plate of jade"