| Nothing lasts forever, but Pan Yunduan lived a long life. He assumed his post and built the garden during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (嘉靖 1521-1566), continued in his career under the Longqing Emperor (隆慶 1566-1572) and died in 1601 having seen his third Emperor, Wanli (萬曆 1572-1620) assume the Mandate of Heaven.
During his last years following his own retirement, Pan Yunduan gradually lost his wealth. Without the steady income from his official position, the drain on his resources from family, the cost of maintaining residences, and the costs of keeping up the standards of a high official all put him in dire straights. He sold off parts of the garden and other real estate before he died.
His family was not able to reverse the decline following his death. The costs of maintaining the garden and the staff to support it was too much. They sold additional sections and finally all that remained and disappeared from history.
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