Discover the beauty and history of Yiyuan Garden

Yiyuan Garden is inside the Shanghai No. 4 Welfare Institution, west of Xiuye Bridge in Songjiang District.

It was first built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as an estate garden belonging to the Luo family. During the reign of Emperor Daoguang (1821-1850) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the garden was purchased by a member of the Xu family. During the Republic of China era (1912-1949), it was owned by the Gao family and the locals called it Gao Family Garden.

The owner of the garden, Gao Tianmei, was a prominent figure in the Nan Society and many members of the society gathered here for meetings.

There were originally two large halls, and now only the two-story Guanjia Tower remains. The tower has a ship-like structure on the bottom floor, with a porch and Ming Dynasty-style (1368-1644) doors and windows.

There is also another building, as well as rockeries, ponds, winding corridors and three curved stone bridges on the pond. The yellow-stone rockery stands by the water.

Yiyuan is the smallest garden still existing in Shanghai, but it has all of the elements of a standard garden, such as ponds, bridges, towers, pavilions, chambers, boats, galleries, ancient trees and lush bamboo groves.

After enduring 100 years of wind and rain, Yiyuan's walls and structures were damaged, the garden was filled with weeds, the rockery was in a precarious state, and the pond became a garbage dump.

The Shanghai No. 4 Welfare Institution funded and organized the restoration work. Liang Yousong, a former student of Liang Sicheng and the chief engineer of the Shanghai Institute of Architecture and Design, supervised the landscaping of Yiyuan.

It is said that the rain scenery in Yiyuan is one of the 24 views of Songjiang. Standing on the arched bridge and looking up at the old tree on the small hill, one can feel a historical and mysterious aura.

The sparsely laid-out lotus, with a few stems forming one cluster, is a characteristic feature of the pond. Several playful fish swimming around the lotus leaves add an extra charm to the garden.

Beside the pond is a rockery with yellow-stone structures, which was crafted by the famous stone artisan Zhang Nanyuan in Songjiang. The rockery is shaped like a cliff, hanging over the ground with a winding path leading up to its summit, then bending down to the other side.

The green path is hidden and quiet, leading to a stone room with a spacious bed for resting. The "twin towers" stand opposite to each other on the south and north sides of the pond.

According to the folk tales of Songjiang, the southern building is said to be the "theater," while the northern one is the "viewing tower." Both buildings are made of brick and wood and are approximately 5 meters high, with five rooms and seven rafters.

The corners of the roof are turned up and the corners under the eaves are adorned with hanging flower pillars. The design is elegant and graceful. The "viewing tower" has exquisite furnishings inside, with a flower hall on the ground floor facing a pond, and the interior decorated entirely with redwood. The upper floor is a place for watching performances with even more exquisite decorations.

The famous Chinese writer and archaeologist Shi Tuo had visited the garden and remarked that "the Ming Dynasty theater building is so well preserved; perhaps this is the only one of its kind left in the country."