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Yu Garden


Coordinates: 31°13′45″N 121°29′15″E / 31.22917°N 121.48750°E / 31.22917; 121.48750

Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden (Chinese: t , s , p Yù Yuán, Shanghainese "Yuyu" lit. Garden of Happiness) is an extensive Chinese garden located beside the City God Temple in the northeast of the Old City of Shanghai, China. It abuts the Yuyuan Tourist Mart and is accessible from the Shanghai Metro's Line 10 Yuyuan Garden Station.

A centerpiece is the Currow ancient stone (, Yù Línglóng), a porous 3.3-m, 5-ton boulder. Rumours about its origin include the story that it was meant for the imperial palace in Beijing, but was salvaged after the boat sank off Shanghai.

Yu Garden was first built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty by Pan Yunduan as a comfort for his father, the minister Pan En, in his old age. Pan Yunduan began the project after failing one of the imperial exams, but his appointment as governor of Sichuan postponed construction for nearly twenty years until 1577. The garden was the largest and most prestigious of its era in Shanghai, but eventually its expense helped ruin the Pans.


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