Yu Garden in winter

How much is a Yu Garden ticket in winter 2026-27?

30 RMB for adults from 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027, down from 40 RMB in autumn. Half price for ages 7 to 18, students and over-60s.

The official visitor page splits the year in two. Peak season (1 April to 30 June and 1 September to 30 November) costs 40 RMB. Off-peak (July, August and 1 December to 31 March) costs 30 RMB, about $4. Buy at either gate or in the "上海豫园" WeChat mini-program. No reservation is needed.

The lantern festival and the garden's evening tour are separate products with their own prices. Do not let a reseller bundle them into something that looks like "the winter ticket".

Which days is Yu Garden closed this winter?

Every Monday unless it is a public holiday. In 2026 it also closed on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Mondays are the trap. The rule is closed every Monday except national public holidays, and none of the December or January Mondays is a holiday. New Year's Day 2027 falls on a Friday, so the garden is open over that long weekend and closed as usual on Monday 4 January.

February is the open question. The State Council publishes the 2027 holiday calendar, usually in November. If Monday 8 February falls inside the Spring Festival break, the garden should open that day. In 2026 the garden closed on New Year's Eve and opened 09:00 to 16:30 on the first seven days of the year, per its Spring Festival notice. The 2027 notice is likely in early February, so check the mini-program before you go.

How busy is Yu Garden at New Year and Spring Festival?

New Year's Day weekend is busy, the Spring Festival week is packed, and weekdays in December are the calmest of the year.

Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February. Domestic travel peaks in the holiday week, and the old city is where Shanghai goes to feel festive. Add the Yuyuan Lantern Festival, expected to run until 20 February, and the bazaar lanes fill from early afternoon. In 2026 the garden's South Gate also shut after 14:00 on festival weekends and holiday days, sending everyone round to the North Gate on Fuyou Road.

The fix is simple: arrive close to 09:00, when China Highlights finds the paths emptiest, and leave the bazaar for later. A weekday in mid December is as quiet as Yu Garden gets. Guests on the evening tours mention the holiday crowds too. Amanda, on New Year's Eve: "Our driver was amazing and Mary, our wonderful guide, manage to get us on the boat on time."

Warm inside on the river, then an hour in the lit-up bazaar: a good winter evening with your own guide.

★ 5.0 · 3 to 4 hours · from $142

Explore the night cruise and bazaar tour → Tour details

Can you see plum blossom at Yu Garden in winter?

A little, but Yu Garden is not a plum garden. Its winter star is a century-old camellia by Dianchun Hall; for plum orchards go to Chenshan or Century Park in mid to late February.

Next to Dianchun Hall grows tree No. 0896, a white double camellia sasanqua (茶梅, "tea plum") brought from Suzhou in 1991 and now well over 100 years old. The Huangpu district reported in February 2026 that it is Shanghai's only listed old camellia of its kind and the garden's only registered named tree, flowering through the winter into the first lunar month.

For proper plum blossom, Shanghai's peak is mid to late February. The city's 2026 plum guide lists Chenshan Botanical Garden (60 RMB), Century Park (free) and Guyi Garden in Jiading (12 RMB), among others. In 2027 that lines up neatly with the lantern festival week.

How short are winter days in Shanghai, and how should you plan?

Sunset is around 16:50 to 17:00 in December and about 17:30 to 17:45 in February. The garden's last entry is 16:00, so plan the garden before lunch or straight after.

Winter light in Shanghai is low and golden from about 15:00, lovely on the rockeries and gone by five. January averages a high of about 9°C and a low of about 3°C, with rain on around ten days a month. Damp cold, not snow. Bring layers; most garden halls are open to the air.

A good winter day runs like this: garden at 09:00, the bazaar and lunch at 11:00, the Bund for sunset, then the river or the lanterns after dark. The garden's own evening tour, a 45-minute guided route with a light show, runs on Fridays to Sundays from 18:00 in winter, but it paused for the lantern festival in 2026.

What should you book for a winter visit?

Nothing for the garden itself on a normal day. Book a tour if you want the ticket, the timing and the Monday problem handled for you, and book early for the New Year weeks.

On a quiet December weekday you can walk up and pay 30 RMB. A guide earns the money on the story behind the rocks and halls, on holiday crowds and on the Monday closure. The Yu Garden tour with tea (from $81) includes the ticket and a tea tasting, which is welcome on a cold day. The private full day (from $115) adds the Jade Buddha Temple and the Bund; garden entry comes only with the All Inclusive option. The water town and Yu Garden day (from $246) includes all tickets and lunch, and Zhujiajiao's canals are calm in winter.

All three are private and priced per person, tiered by group size. Every tour on this site cancels free up to 24 hours before, so booking a Spring Festival date early costs nothing. Our water town day-trip guide compares the options.

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