Guyi Garden　古猗园

Guyi Garden, one of the top five gardens in Shanghai, is located in the ancient Nanxiang Town. Its construction began during the reign of Emperor Jiajing (1522-1566) of the Ming Dynasty. Built by a local gentleman by the name of Min Shiji, the garden covered an area of only 10 mu. The layout of the garden was made by Zhu Zhizheng, a well-known bamboo carver. Because of the meandering streams and green bamboos in the garden as well as on the basis of the line, i.e. green bamboo and clear rippling water, from The Book of Songs, it was named Yi Garden. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the garden was desolated. In the 11th year (1746) during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, Ye Jin, a wealthy merchant from the Dongshan Mountain of Suzhou, bought this garden. He expanded and renovated the garden, and renamed it Guyi Garden. In 1932, the Songhu Battle broke out, and the garden was occupied by the Japanese invaders. And the Four-faceted Hall was even rendered into a stable for the Japanese soldiers. The garden was almost destroyed. After repeated renovations and expansion, the garden is now over 130 mu. A new bamboo garden is built in the east of Guyi Garden, which has more than 20 precious species of bamboos. Since 1988, the Bamboo Culture Festival has been held here every October.

Yiye Hall is the main hall built in the Ming Dynasty. As nanmu was used for the beams of the hall, it was called the Nanmu Hall; moreover, as it has four exits, it is also termed as the Four-faceted Hall. The horizontal board in the hall bears the inscription by Tang Yun, a renowned painter in Shanghai. With the nine-dragon partition, throne chair, and tea tables that were all made of boxwood, the hall looks majestic and magnificent. In front of the hall, there are two old locust trees, and the one on the right is already over 400 years old, planted in the Ming Dynasty. On the right of the hall is an array of five rocks from Taihu Lake. They look like five old men listening to music, thus the name of The Five Old Men Hill. The rockery on the left resembles a mass of clouds, hence the name of The Clouds. The Goose Pond at the center of the garden is almost square in shape. Anchored by its north bank is a double-decked stationary boathouse in the shade of green trees. The Fuyun House with red pillars and white walls produces a reflection in the green waves. The boat and the house are facing each other, making up a pair of scenes. The Fuyu Bridge in the east of the pond and the Baihe Pavilion on the west bank compose another pair of scenes. The green bamboos sway gracefully on the Luzhu Hill on the south bank of the Goose Pond. The top of the hill overlooks the distant houses as well as the rustic views of fields. In 1933, the locals raised funds for the construction of a square pavilion on top of the hill. The roof of the pavilion has only three upward crests, with the one towards northeast missing, symbolizing the loss of the three provinces of Northeast China to Japanese occupation at the time. Therefore, it was named Que Jiao Ting, meaning One Crest Missing Pavilion. It was planned that the missing crest would be added once the lost land was retrieved. However, it has not been added. It was intended to remind future generations to bear in mind this historical national humiliation. The two Stone Jingchuangs (dhvaja) of the Tang Dynasty, which were originally in front of the Great Hall of the Nanxiang Temple, were moved to Guyi Garden. And the Putong Pagoda of the Song Dynasty was moved to the Lotus Pond in the west of the garden. In summer time, when the lotus flowers are in full blossom, there appears a bewitching view: all the lotus flowers are holding up the pagoda or the pagoda are floating on the lotus flowers. The passages of the garden are unique in terms of the materials and patterns. The materials include yellow stones, black stones, white stones, gray bricks, black tiles, etc. And the patterns are butterflies, solar circles, running deer, plum flowers, cracks, etc. They look classical and simple. Near The Clouds, the pattern is in the form of flying dragons, implying that the dragons are soaring from the clouds. Of all the scenes, only the Yiye Hall and the Goose Pond remain in the former sites of the garden. In recent years, the ancient town has raised RMB 30 million yuan for the renovation of the major buildings with the intention to restore the old appearance. Besides, new scenic spots are to be constructed. During the Spring Festival every year, large-scale lantern activities are held here. In 2009, the festival lasted for three days.

Address: Guyi Garden No.218, Huyi Highway

Tel.: 021-59122225

Open Hours: 5:00 - 17:00 (April through June)

5:30 - 18:00 (July through September)

6:00 - 17:00 (October-March) at the Entrance

7:00 - 19:00 (July through September)

7:00 - 18:00 (October through June) at the South Entrance