Hotels near Yu Garden

Yu Garden was begun in 1559 by Pan Yunduan, a Ming dynasty official, as a private retirement garden for his father, and took nearly 20 years to complete. It covers two hectares of pavilions, carp ponds, rockeries and zigzag bridges, arranged on the classical principle that no visitor should see the whole garden from any single point. The Exquisite Jade Rock, a perforated boulder said to have been salvaged from a Song dynasty shipment, is the centrepiece.

The surrounding Yuyuan Bazaar is a separate matter - a dense grid of reconstructed traditional shopfronts selling souvenirs, silk and street food. Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant here has been making xiaolongbao since 1900 and the ground-floor takeaway queue moves faster than the upstairs dining rooms.

Pro Tip: Arrive at 8:30am for the garden opening and do the garden before the bazaar. By 11am the bazaar alleys are shoulder to shoulder and the garden's narrow corridors turn into a queue that moves in one direction only.