In 1559 AD, Pan Yunduan, a magistrate of the Ming Dynasty, gathered stones and dug a pond in the north of his hometown, Shanghai County, and built the first Yu Garden. In 1994, Yu Garden Corporation expanded the Yu Garden, increasing its commercial facilities from 18,000 square meters to 100,000 square meters. Since then, Yu Garden Shopping Mall has gradually developed into a nationally renowned cultural and commercial landmark.

The Yu Garden area is extensive, including not only the nationally protected cultural heritage site and national 4A-level tourist attraction, Yu Garden, but also the Yu Garden Shopping Mall, City God Temple, and Chenxiang Pavilion. Today, this area is connected to the Bund Finance Center (BFC), collectively known as the Greater Yu Garden. As a witness to urban transformation, Yu Garden receives millions of local and tourist visitors every year, becoming the "China in the eyes of foreigners, Shanghai in the eyes of Chinese, and hometown in the eyes of Shanghai residents".

The Yu Garden area is the birthplace of Shanghai folk culture and a gathering place for Shanghai culture, representing the root of Shanghai's urban culture in the minds of citizens and tourists. Among them, the Yu Garden Lantern Festival, as a national intangible cultural heritage, has been held for 29 consecutive years since its first edition in 1995. It has become a symbolic Chinese New Year folk cultural event. During the lantern festival, the Nine-Bend Bridge is adorned with lanterns, and visitors and citizens crossing the bridge hope to leave behind the twists and turns of the past year and have a smooth year ahead. In 2024, the Yu Garden Lantern Festival will be held for the first time in Paris, France, successfully "breaking through" overseas and gaining numerous overseas fans, becoming a classic case of Chinese culture "going global".

Over the span of more than 400 years, Yu Garden has transformed from a privately owned garden of "enjoyment of oneself" to a public space of "enjoyment of all". It has witnessed the changes and development of the city, reflecting the lives of old Shanghai residents, and has become a must-visit place for tourists exploring Shanghai. In the fusion of oriental aesthetics and national trend street blocks, various traditional folk activities take turns to stage during festive times in Yu Garden, allowing people to experience the charm and warmth of traditional culture amidst laughter and joy.