Drunken White Pool Park

Drunken White Pool Park

Drunken White Pool Park is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

Songjiang’s Drunken White Pool is one of the renowned classical gardens in the Jiangnan region and a popular tourist destination in Shanghai. With a history dating back over 900 years to its origins, the park spans 76 acres. It features lush ancient trees, numerous pavilions, and many historic relics. The winding railings, horizontal beams, and serpentine corridors all exude an antique charm. Among the five major classical gardens in the Shanghai area — namely Shanghai’s Yu Garden, Jiading’s Guyi Garden, Qiuxia Garden, Qingpu’s Qushui Garden, and Songjiang’s Drunken White Pool — Drunken White Pool is the oldest.

The predecessor of Drunken White Pool was a private garden owned by Zhu Zhichun, a scholar-official from Songjiang during the Song Dynasty, called “Guyang Garden.” The name suggests that it was a famous garden in the hometown of Lu Ji and Lu Yun. Lu Ji once wrote a poem that said “as if in the sunny side of the Valley River,” referring to his hometown being on the sunny side of the Valley River. Zhu Zhichun named his garden after this poetic line. Over the dynasties, the “Guyang Garden” was expanded upon its original foundation. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Dong Qichang, a celebrated painter, calligrapher, and Minister of Rites from Songjiang, built structures such as the “Four-Sided Hall” and “Yihang” here. He also gathered a group of literati who composed poetry and songs in this space, leading to a continuous flow of literary works. During the Qing Dynasty’s Kangxi era, the famous painter Gu Dashe designated this place as his private villa. He inherited and further developed the artistic essence of classical garden architecture. Using Songjiang’s picturesque Jiangnan water town scenery as a highlight, he designed the 700-square-meter rectangular lotus pond as the centerpiece and employed irregular symmetrical landscaping techniques to shape the pond’s edges. With bamboo, plum blossoms, rockeries, and unusual stones complementing each other and integrated into one, he created the Drunken White Pool, which became famous throughout Jiangnan. But why is it called “Drunken White Pool”? There are both symbolic and literal origins to the name.

When the owner completed the garden, he imagined that if the great poet Li Bai were alive and visited here, he would surely be enchanted by the sights on the pond and captivated by the surrounding garden. Thus, he decided to name the garden “Drunken White Pool.” More specifically, he was inspired by Han Qi, a high-ranking Song Dynasty official and poet who was deeply enamored with the poetry of Tang Dynasty’s Bai Juyi. Han Qi had built a classical hall in his hometown of Anyang, Henan, called “Drunken White Hall.” Gu Dashe also greatly admired Bai Juyi and often found himself lost in the beautiful imagery of Bai’s poetry. Following Han Qi’s example, Gu Dashe named his own garden “Drunken White Pool.” The name “Drunken White Pool” is novel, profound in meaning, and carries a beautiful, dreamy ambiance. After enduring rises and falls, as well as various trials, Drunken White Pool has finally embraced a vibrant new life. Through several renovations and expansions, today’s Drunken White Pool embodies the style of Jiangnan gardens from the Ming and Qing periods, where mountains, stones, and clear pools complement each other, and corridors and winding paths enhance the scenery. At the same time, it retains the characteristics of abundant historical relics and a continuous stream of visits by notable figures. The park now houses structures such as the Four-Sided Hall, Letian Pavilion, Yifang, Xuehai Hall, Baocheng Tower, and the Pondside Cottage, as well as artistic treasures like the Bangyan Portrait Stone Carvings, the Historical Art Stele Corridor, and the authentic stone carving of “Ode to the Red Cliff.” There are also ancient ginkgo and camphor trees aged three to four hundred years, and peonies over a hundred years old. Today’s Drunken White Pool boasts towering ancient trees, oddly shaped rocks, interconnected pavilions and towers, and winding paths and corridors. It is quaint, elegant, and famous across Jiangnan. With its graceful charm and elegant beauty, it stands proudly in the scenic splendor of Yunjian, earning high praise from both domestic and international visitors.

Address: No. 64, Renmin South Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai

Type: Garden/Historic Site

Recommended Visit Duration: 2–3 hours

Phone: 021-67853551

Official Website: http://www.shzuibaichi.com/

Opening Hours:

Outer Garden: 6:00–17:00; Inner Garden: 7:00–17:00; Halls: 8:00–17:00; Ticket Sales: 7:00–16:30.

Ticket Information:

Gate Price: 12.0 RMB