The main mansion of the Garden is right in the center, with five courtyards lining from the south to the north. Some subordinate houses stand on the east, while pavilions and rockeries are erected to the north and west, all constituting the shape of a try square which half encloses the main mansion.
Some special meaning is attached to the Lingering Spring Hall in the garden. It is said that in his thirties, when taking the court examination at the Baohe Palace in the Forbidden City, Yu and other candidates were required to compose a poem on the title “Flowers Falling on a Raining Day”. Yu began his poem with “The falling flowers do not defy the spring”, which was greatly appreciated by the examiner. As a result, Yu topped the list of successful candiates. Years later, still delighted in this line of his, Yu named after it both the hall and his collection of poems.
To the northwest of Lingering Spring Hall is a small garden, whose western edge is defined by a long corridor, a pavilion in its middle section. Below the corridor is a pond named “Winding Pond”. Standing on the east of the pond is a rockery, on which flowers and bushes grow in abundance. Standing on the rockery are the Peak Pavilion and the Spring Veranda, where Yu was said to relax himself and gaze at the moon on a clear night.