Chinese architecture is a style that is very different from that of western countries, although it is not fair to lump all Chinese architecture into one category. As the Chinese dynasties changed, so did the architecture. For this project I wanted to focus on the Yuyuan Garden, also called the Yu Garden, located in Shanghai. I found this to be very interesting because when I was in China during the summer of 2010 I went and visited this garden and was blown away by the architecture.
Pan Yunduan built this garden in 1559. He built it to try to please his parents, specifically his father, before they passed away. He intended for the garden to be a place that his parents could relax and rest. He spent much of his wealth on completely the garden, which was not completely finished until 1577. This garden eventually led to Pan Yunduan’s demise due to the fact that it cost him so much money to build. After Pan Yunduan’s death, his granddaughter’s husband inherited it, but as the Pan’s declined in the 1600’s so did the Garden. Eventually the local people raised money and bought part of it, which they decided to settle in. Soon after, many marketers also bought part of it and they owned it for many years.
The garden has two different styles of architecture, that of the Ming and that of the Qing dynasty. These dynasties greatly resembled that of the Song, but on a larger scale. The Ming’s greatly enhanced government buildings and expanded many buildings that previously existed. The garden is located on 5 acres of land, and is located in the “Old City of Shanghai,” which is on the outskirts of modern Shanghai. This Old City was built during the Ming dynasty and has since been modernized, with a very large market. The Garden is separated into 6 sections and is separated by large white walls.
The garden has been damaged on multiple occasions. The first being during the First Opium War when British troops invaded Shanghai and lived in portions of the garden, and...