Guyi Garden (古猗园)

Classical garden · Jiading · Shanghai. A Ming-era classical garden of bamboo, lotus ponds and a pavilion missing one corner.

Source: https://chinafootnotes.com/places/guyi-garden · Data checked 2026-10-02 · Rendered for 2026-10-03 (Asia/Shanghai). Facts carry their status; "not found yet" means we searched and found no reliable source.

Notices in effect

• 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-07: National Day extended evening: until 21:00, last entry 20:30
• 2026-09-25 to 2026-10-25: Intangible Heritage Culture Month: 'Yilian Youmeng' light show; opera at Youshang Pavilion, Yiye Hall and Goose Pond during the holiday; orchids in the halls.
• 2026-09-25 to 2026-10-07: Present a paper ticket stub from Tan Garden, Qiuxiapu, Huilongtan Park, Poly Theatre or Jiayuanhai Art Museum at the gate for 20% off a full-price Guyi Garden ticket.

Why go

Guyi Garden (古猗园) in Nanxiang is one of Shanghai's five great classical gardens, laid out in the Ming dynasty and now 9.2 hectares — far larger and calmer than Yuyuan. Come for bamboo groves, lotus ponds and old halls. Look for one small pavilion built with a corner missing to mark the 1931 loss of north-east China.

What to do

• Find the Missing-Corner Pavilion. The square Buque Pavilion (补阙亭, 缺角亭) was built in 1933 with its north-east corner left off to mourn the 1931 occupation of north-east China. The other corners carry clenched fists.
• Walk the bamboo and lotus ponds. Look for the Stone Boat (不系舟), Fuyun Pavilion (浮筠阁), the 'Can't Live Without Bamboo' house (不可无竹居) and the White Crane Pavilion (白鹤亭) around the ponds.
• See the Tang stone pillar. The garden keeps a Tang-dynasty Buddhist stone pillar (唐经幢).

• Don't miss: The clenched-fist sculptures on the three remaining corners of the Missing-Corner Pavilion.

• Best time: Weekday mornings
• Skip if: Skip it if you have already seen Yuyuan and only have one day; it takes half a day with the travel.

Practical details

• Hours: Mar–Nov: South 07:00–18:30 · North 05:30–19:30
• Mar–Nov (03-01 to 11-30), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun · South Gate: 07:00–18:30, last entry 18:00
• Mar–Nov (03-01 to 11-30), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun · North Gate: 05:30–19:30, last entry 19:00
• Dec–Feb (12-01 to 02-29), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun · South Gate: 07:00–19:00, last entry 18:30
• Dec–Feb (12-01 to 02-29), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun · North Gate: 06:00–17:00, last entry 16:30
• Ticket sales stop 30 minutes before each gate closes.
• Winter times match the city government's Feb 2026 notice (South Gate 07:00–19:00, North Gate 06:00–17:00).
• Admission: Ticketed · ¥12
• Adult: ¥12 (All year)
• Booking: Buy at the gate or in the 古猗园 mini-program
• South and North Gate ticket windows (南门／北门售票处)
• Guyi Garden (古猗园) — WeChat → Mini Programs → search 古猗园 → 在线购票 (Online tickets)
• Passport accepted: unknown — Not stated whether the mini-program or windows accept passports.
• Last admission: Tickets until 18:00 (South) / 19:00 (North)
• Time to allow: 1–2 hr
• Getting there: Line 11 · Nanxiang · Exit 2, then bus 129/111
• Metro Line 11 to Nanxiang (南翔), Exit 2, about 15 min walk
• Show a taxi driver: 古猗园南门，嘉定区南翔镇沪宜公路218号
• Map: Apple Maps · Amap 高德
• Address: 上海市嘉定区南翔镇沪宜公路218号 / 218 Huyi Highway, Nanxiang, Jiading district
• Foreign visitors: Passport use for tickets not documented

Not found yet

• booking.passport.accepted: No source states whether passports work for the mini-program or gate tickets. (searched: official, government, WebSearch, media)
• foreignVisitors.idToBring: Foreign document, payment and English support not documented. (searched: official, WebSearch, media)
• admission.concessions: Student or senior discount rates are not published in current sources. (searched: government, official, WebSearch)

Traveler tips

• Evening opening to 21:00 on 1–7 Oct. During the National Day holiday (1–7 October 2026) Guyi Garden stays open until 21:00, with ticket sales stopping at 20:30. After dark the 'Yilian Youmeng' (猗莲悠梦) projection show plays across the White Crane Pavilion, the Tang stone pillar and other landmarks, and opera is staged at Youshang Pavilion (幽赏亭), Yiye Hall (逸野堂) and the Goose Pond (戏鹅池). source
• Use the North Gate early or late. The two gates keep different hours. From March to November the South Gate (南门, 沪宜公路218号) opens 07:00–18:30 and the North Gate 05:30–19:30, and each stops selling tickets 30 minutes before closing. Come in by the North Gate if you want an early-morning walk with local exercisers. source
• Buy the ¥12 ticket at the gate or in WeChat. Entry costs ¥12. Buy it at either gate window, or in WeChat: open Mini Programs, search 古猗园, then tap 在线购票 (online tickets). Ticket sales stop 30 minutes before the gate closes. source
• Find the pavilion with a missing corner. Ask for the Buque Pavilion (补阙亭), also called the Missing-Corner Pavilion (缺角亭). Local people paid for it in 1933 after the 1931 Mukden Incident and left the north-east corner unbuilt to stand for the lost north-eastern provinces, while the other three corners carry raised fists. It was destroyed in 1937 and rebuilt in 1959. source
• From the metro, take a short bus. Take Metro Line 11 to Nanxiang (南翔), leave by Exit 2, and catch Jiading bus 129 or 111; buses 62 and 821 also serve the garden. On foot it is roughly 15 minutes. Caveat: Walking time is an editorial estimate. source
• Orchids fill the halls this autumn. For the 2026 Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays the garden decorated its halls with Chinese orchids (国兰), moth orchids, cymbidiums and dancing-lady orchids. Step inside the halls rather than only walking the paths. source
• Pair it with xiaolongbao in town. Guyi Garden sits at the edge of Nanxiang old town, the home of xiaolongbao, with Tan Garden (¥22) and Yunxiang Temple a short walk away. An hour in the garden plus lunch and the old streets makes a half-day trip including the metro. source

Sources

• Shanghai Municipal People's Government
• Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism
• Shanghai Municipal People's Government (published 2026-02-13)
• Shanghai Landscaping and City Appearance Administration (published 2026-02-13)
• Shanghai Guyi Garden
• Shanghai Guyi Garden (published 2026-09-20)
• Shanghai Municipal People's Government (published 2026-02-13)
• Shanghai Landscaping & City Appearance Administrative Bureau (published 2026-02-13)
• 纵相新闻 via NetEase (published 2026-09-23)
• NetEase news (published 2026-09-23)
• Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism (meet-in-shanghai) (published 2021-10-19)
• 嘉定报
• Mandy (Almost Landing) (published 2020-08-23)
• Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism (乐游上海) (published 2025-09-12)