Short answer
Yu Garden (豫园) is a walled, ticketed Ming-dynasty classical garden in Shanghai's old city. The garden's own published prices are ¥40 in peak season (April–June and September–November) and ¥30 off-peak (July–August and December–March) for an adult. You can buy online through the garden's official WeChat mini-program or at the ticket windows at the north and south gates, and a passport works as your ID — one ticket per document.
Two rules catch people out. It is closed on Mondays, except on national public holidays, and it shuts at 16:30 with last entry at 16:00 — this is a morning or early-afternoon attraction, not an evening one. Arriving at 16:30 gets you a locked gate.
The bigger trap is the name. "Yu Garden" on a map often means the Yuyuan Bazaar — the free, open-late shopping and temple district wrapped around the garden. Most visitors spend their whole visit in the bazaar, photograph the Nine-Turn Bridge, eat dumplings and never enter the actual garden. That is a fine day out; it is just not the garden.
Three different places with almost the same name
| Yu Garden (豫园) | Yuyuan Bazaar (豫园商城) | City God Temple (城隍庙) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The walled Ming garden itself | The shopping and snack district around it | A working Taoist temple in the middle of the district |
| Ticket | ¥40 peak / ¥30 off-peak | Free | A small admission — commonly about ¥10, including incense. Some listings describe it as free |
| Hours | 09:00–16:30, last entry 16:00, closed Mondays | Open daily into the evening | Roughly 08:30–16:30 |
| Time needed | 1–2 hours | 1–3 hours, more if you eat | 30 minutes |
| Skip it if | You want shopping and street food only | You want the garden and nothing else | You have already seen enough temples |
They are all a few minutes' walk apart, so combining them is normal. Just decide which one you came for, or the bazaar will decide for you.
Tickets: prices and concessions
| Ticket | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, peak season | ¥40 | April–June and September–November |
| Adult, off-peak | ¥30 | July–August and December–March |
| Seniors 60+ and minors 6–18 | Half price | Bring the document that proves it |
| Children under 1.3 m or aged 6 and under | Free | Accompanied by an adult |
| Booking channels | — | Official "上海豫园" WeChat mini-program, or the ticket windows at the north and south gates |
Two practical points. The ticket is issued against an ID document — your passport, and one ticket covers one person, so every adult needs their own passport at the gate. And if a travel site quotes two or three times the numbers above, that is a markup: the gate and the official mini-program both charge the official price.
Opening hours and the Monday rule
The garden opens at 09:00 and closes at 16:30, with last entry at 16:00, and is shut every Monday except on national public holidays. Those hours are unusual for Shanghai, most attractions run later, so build your day around them.
The one predictable exception is the run-up to Lunar New Year and the weeks after it, when the district becomes the Yuyuan Lantern Festival. Dates and prices are announced fresh each year, and the festival zone is ticketed, with free-entry windows earlier in the day. If you travel between mid-January and early March, check the current announcement, and expect crowds.
Getting there
- Metro Line 10 or Line 14 to Yuyuan Garden station (豫园)Both lines stop here. Follow the signs for the garden, exits on the Renmin Road and South Henan Road side put you closest to the garden and bazaar entrances.
- Walk five to eight minutes to the gatesYou will come out into souvenir stalls and the smell of frying dumplings. The garden's north and south gates are inside this district, not on the main road.
- Or walk from the BundAbout 20 minutes south through the old city. It makes a natural pairing: the Bund in the morning, the garden before it closes at 16:30.
- Do not driveThe old-city lanes are narrow, congested and short on parking. Metro is faster, and a taxi or DiDi from the Bund is a short hop if you would rather not walk.
What is actually inside
The garden was first laid out in 1559 by Pan Yunduan, a Ming official who built it as a place of comfort for his parents, the name Yu carries the sense of pleasing one's parents. His posting to Sichuan interrupted work for nearly two decades, and it was completed in 1577. It covers about two hectares and squeezes more than forty named scenic spots into that space in the Jiangnan style: rockeries, ponds, zigzag bridges, halls and covered corridors, designed to hide how small it is.
| Feature | What it is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Rockery | A rockery around 12–14 m high, built of yellow stone | The centrepiece of the Sansui Hall area, with peaks, caves and gorges |
| Exquisite Jade Rock (玉玲珑) | A porous 3.3 m, roughly 5-tonne Taihu limestone boulder | The garden's most famous object — the rock everyone photographs |
| Sansui Hall | The main hall of the complex | The garden's social heart in Pan's day, used for performances |
| Wanhua Chamber | A hall furnished with Ming-style rosewood pieces | The best look at the interior style of the period |
| Inner Garden | A separate walled garden first laid out in 1709 | Quieter, more enclosed, often overlooked |
| The dragon walls | Tiled walls topped with sculpted, coiled dragons | The detail people notice on the way out |
| Nine-Turn Bridge and Huxinting Teahouse | The zigzag bridge and mid-lake pavilion teahouse | Outside the garden wall, in the free bazaar — no ticket needed |
How to visit it well
- Be at the gate for the 09:00 opening on a weekday. That buys roughly 45 minutes of calm before the tour groups arrive. The garden is small enough that crowding is felt immediately.
- Go off-peak if your dates are flexible. July–August and December–March cost ¥30 rather than ¥40, and winter here is genuinely pleasant.
- Budget 1–2 hours inside. Two hectares sounds tiny, but the layout is deliberately winding. Then decide separately about the bazaar.
- Read the price off the official channel before you travel. Seasonal bands are set annually and the figures above are current as of this page's update date.
- Expect the bazaar to be busy and touristy. It is a commercial district in Ming costume: souvenir shops, snack stalls, chain stores, crowds. That is either the fun of it or the reason to leave quickly.
Worth knowing before you go
- The district is a long-term works-in-progress. The Yuyuan malls area has been undergoing a staged renewal and expansion programme, so some lanes and buildings may be closed, scaffolded or relocated during your visit. The garden and the main bazaar routes stay open.
- Payment is by phone. Alipay and WeChat Pay work throughout the district, and smaller stalls may not take cash or foreign cards.
- Ticket = document. As with most major Chinese attractions, the booking is tied to the ID you present at the gate. Carry the physical passport, not a photo of it, see how real-name reservations work.
- Combine it with the Bund, not with a late start. The garden shuts at 16:30 while the Bund's lights come on around dusk. Do the garden first, then walk to the river, see the Bund guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Yu Garden cost?
The garden's published adult price is ¥40 in peak season (April–June, September–November) and ¥30 off-peak (July–August, December–March), with half price for visitors 60+ and minors 6–18. Children under 1.3 m or aged 6 and under go free. The bazaar around it is free.
Is Yu Garden open on Mondays?
No; it is closed on Mondays except on national public holidays. Hours are 09:00–16:30 with last entry at 16:00, so the last practical entry window is mid-afternoon. The surrounding bazaar stays open.
Do I need to book in advance?
You can book online through the official "上海豫园" WeChat mini-program, or simply buy at the ticket windows at the north and south gates with your passport. Advance booking saves queue time on busy days but is not the only route in.
Is Yu Garden the same as the Yuyuan Bazaar?
No, and this confuses almost everyone. Yu Garden is the walled classical garden, and it is ticketed. Yuyuan Bazaar, the shopping and snack district with the City God Temple, the Nine-Turn Bridge and the teahouse, surrounds it and is free to enter.
Can I visit with a foreign passport?
Yes. A passport is accepted as the ID document for the ticket, and one ticket is issued per document. Carry the physical passport to the gate.
How long should I allow?
One to two hours for the garden itself. Add one to three hours if you want to eat and shop in the bazaar, or to visit the City God Temple. Half a day covers the whole old-city area comfortably.
What is the best time of year to visit?
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable, but they are also peak season and cost ¥40. December–March is off-peak at ¥30 and quiet, and the garden's rockeries and halls read well in winter light. Avoid the Lunar New Year lantern period if you dislike crowds, though it is spectacular if you don't.
Is there a lantern festival at Yu Garden?
Yes, annually, built around Lunar New Year and running into early spring. Dates and prices are announced each year, and the festival zone is ticketed at a premium during it with free-entry windows earlier in the day. Check the current announcement if you are travelling in that period.
Related reading
Opening hours, the Monday closure, last-entry time, seasonal ticket bands, concession thresholds and the official sales channels follow Yu Garden's own published visitor information as of September 2026. Prices are set annually and can change, confirm on the official channel for your travel date. The City God Temple's admission is reported inconsistently across sources (a nominal fee of around ¥10 in most, free in some); treat it as a token amount. Lantern-festival dates and prices are announced per edition and the 2026 figures do not carry over.