Yu Garden, a classical garden in downtown Shanghai, boasts a history over 400 years. Each pavilion, hall, stone and stream in the garden is expressing the quintessence of South 
China landscape design from Ming and Qing Dynasty. Over forty spots, divided by dragon walls, wound corridors and beautiful flowers, form an unique picture featuring one step, one beauty; every step, every beauty.
Yu (Yuyuan) Garden, located on Anren Street. Yu garden was built during the reign of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1577), 400 hundred years from now. It is a residential garden built by Pan Yunduan, minister of finance in Sichuan Province in the Ming Dynasty. Pan built the garden to “please his parents and let them enjoy themselves in their late years”. In ancient Chinese “Yu” means “pleasing”, hence the name of the garden. The garden is typical of the gardening art south of the Changjiang River and is famed as “a wonder of beauty in southeast China”. It is still a famous classical garden in south China. At the end of the Ming Dynasty the garden was deserted. It was rebuilt in the 25th year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1760).
Yu garden is reputed to be the most beautiful garden south of the Yangtze River. Built beside the Temple of the City God and covering only fives acres, it follows the Suzhou garden design of a world in microcosm, with 30 pavillions linked by corridors, artificial hills, bridges over lotus pools, groves of bamboo and walls occupied by stone dragons. The surrpounding bazaar is packed with traditional and modern shops, restaurants and temples.
