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In Search of Peace and Health: Yuyuan Garden
There are more than 40 scenic spots scattered throughout the garden, which is
divided into six sections by five boundary walls. The six scenic areas include
the Grand Rockery, the Ten-Thousand-Flower Pavilion, the Hall of Heralding
Spring, the Hall of Jade Magnificence, the Inner Garden and the Lotus Pool.
 The Grand Rockery is the most elaborate,
venerable and glorious rockery in Southeastern China. Approximately 2,000 tons
of stone were used to build this 14-meter-high rockery, which features perilous
peaks, cliffs, winding caves and gorges -- all designed to give visitors a sense
of standing before a great mountain. It is said that the Grand Rockery is the
highest rockery in Shanghai, as well as the most magnificent rockery in
Southeast China during the Ming Dynasty. Today, ascending the rockery, one can
catch a panoramic view of the whole garden.
To the east of the Ten-Thousand-Flower Pavilion is the Dragon Wall. The
white wall is adorned with a dragon's head and paved with scale-like tiles,
creating the illusion of a huge dragon snaking its way along the garden to
maintain peace and safety. The dragon was designed with only four claws - not
five like at royal palaces -- to avoid irreverence and rebellion in the feudal
society. According to legend, when the wall was first completed in the Qing
Dynasty, the dragon had all five claws in place, like all dragons at royal
palaces. But the feudal ruler regarded this as a sign of irreverence and
rebellion and then removed one of the claws from each dragon.
The Hall of Heralding Spring is located in the
eastern part of Yuyuan Garden. This pavilion was built in 1820, the first year
of Emperor Daoguang's reign. From September 1853 to February 1855, it served as the
base of the Society of Little Swords ("Xiaodao Hui"), which led to an
uprising against the Qing Dynasty, occupying Shanghai for 17 months. Today, weapons and coins
made by the Society of Little Swords are exhibited in this hall. The
Shanghai City Government named it the Callan Educational Base in 1994.
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The Grand Rockery is the most elaborate,
venerable and glorious rockery in Southeastern China. Approximately 2,000 tons
of stone were used to build this 14-meter-high rockery, which features perilous
peaks, cliffs, winding caves and gorges -- all designed to give visitors a sense
of standing before a great mountain. It is said that the Grand Rockery is the
highest rockery in Shanghai, as well as the most magnificent rockery in
Southeast China during the Ming Dynasty. Today, ascending the rockery, one can
catch a panoramic view of the whole garden.
