Yuyuan Garden suspended for environmental protection project
Yuyuan Garden on Fuyou Road and Anren Street is a typical classic garden of Jiangnan, or the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and a listed national protected historical site.
Shanghai's historic Yuyuan Garden, dating back to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), has suspended its opening through next month for an "environmental protection campaign."
The garden, located in the city’s old town area, launched renovations on September 19 to improve its environment and restore its historic ambiance.
But the management office of the garden recently announced that it will postpone the ongoing project, which was scheduled to get completed by the end of October, through November 16, when the one of the most popular tourism attractions will reopen to the public.
The Yuyuan Garden Malls — the dining and shopping facilities near the historic garden, originated from a prosperous market of the City God Temple some 140 years ago — continues to operate and will remain open during the garden’s renovation campaign.
Visitors can still walk along the iconic zigzag bridge, have a cup of tea at the Mid-lake Pavilion or taste meals at the Lubolang Restaurant which has reopened after a half-year renovation.
The garden on Fuyou Road and Anren Street is a typical classic garden of Jiangnan, or the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and a listed national protected historical site.
The former private garden was initially built by Pan Yunduan, a high-level government official of the Ming Dynasty, in 1559 as a gift to his father. Over the years, it was expanded to include more water features and elaborate architectural structure.
Construction work on the garden lasted more than 60 years, from 1559 to 1620, and much of the design is attributed to the famous landscape architect Zhang Nanyang.
He invited opera troupes to give performances and held kite-flying events, cricket fights and religious services in the garden.
The garden later survived the Opium War in 1842 when the British army set up a headquarters in the Mid-Lake Pavilion, as well as the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression when invaders torched some of the garden pavilions.
In the late 1980s, the garden underwent a series of renovations that restored the architecture to its former glory.
