Lanes
Shikumen alleys turned studios and tea bars. Get lost on purpose.
Tianzifang Lanes · Shanghai
Garden#Culture
Yu Garden Pavilions
Shanghai4.61 hr 30 min9.4k saved
A 16th-century Ming literati garden of zigzag bridges, dragon-topped walls and the prized Exquisite Jade Rock, all hidden behind the heaving Yuyuan Bazaar. Buy your ticket and step inside for the rockeries and koi; the real photo is the Mid-Lake Pavilion teahouse on its nine-turn bridge — built crooked because evil spirits can only travel in straight lines. Pair it with a basket of dumplings from Nanxiang next door.
Good to know
- Closed Mondays. Closed Mondays (open on Oct 1–7 National Day week). The surrounding bazaar stays open Mondays; only the ticketed garden closes.
- Best time — early morning — At 09:00 opening beats tour groups and heat; afternoon gets packed.
- 09:00-16:30, last entry/ticketing 16:00.
- Enter the garden early, bazaar is mobbed by noon
- Nanxiang Mantou for soup dumplings outside
- Nine-turn bridge is the signature shot
Insider tip — Don't confuse the free bazaar/Old Street with the ticketed garden behind the gate - many tourists miss the actual garden.
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