It was first established in ming dynasty by a mandarin named pan yunduan who used to be the governor of sichuan and later expanded greatly; the yu garden was considered the best garden in southeast china. the yu garden enjoyed a history over 400 years since its first establishment by pan yunduan who had intended to bring happiness and pleasure to his parents and relatives. it became the headquarters of the dagger association or small-sword group uprising (an uprising in 1853 led by the dagger association, a secret organization, against the foreign imperialists in shanghai and xiamen of fujian province). now a great number of weapons, home-made coins and announcements used by the dagger association are on display in the spring hall of the garden. a large-scale restoration of the yu garden was conducted after the establishment of prc and it was opened to the public formally in 1961.