ANCIENT

CHINESE
GARDEN
The chinese garden is a landscape garden style
which has evolved over three thousand years. It
includes both the vast gardens of the chinese
emperors and members of the imperial family,
built for pleasure and to impress, and the more
intimate gardens created by scholars, poets,
former government officials, soldiers and
merchants, made for reflection and escape from
the outside world. They create an idealized
miniature landscape, which is meant to express
the harmony that should exist between man
and nature.
Chinese gardens are constructed to recreate
and miniaturize larger natural landscapes.
Traditionally, Chinese gardens blend unique,
ornate buildings with natural elements.
A typical Chinese garden is enclosed by walls
and includes one or more ponds, rock works,
trees and flowers, and an assortment of halls
and pavilions within the garden, connected by
winding paths and zigzag galleries. By moving
from structure to structure, visitors can view a
series of carefully composed scenes, unrolling
like a scroll of landscape paintings.
Just about every Chinese garden contains
architecture, like a building or pavilion;
decorative rocks and a rock garden; plants,
trees and flowers; and water elements, like
ponds. Most Chinese gardens are enclosed by a
wall and some have winding paths. Chinese
gardens arent just thrown together. Instead,
theyre deliberately designed and visitors
should walk through them in the particular
order that the garden was laid out.
 HISTORY OF
CHINESE GARDENS
SHANG DYNASTY
The first Chinese gardens were built in the Yellow River valley. These
gardens were large enclosed parks where the kings and nobles hunted
game, or where fruit and vegetables were grown. Kings and members
of the nobility during theShang Dynasty (16001046 BC)hunted and
planted fruits and vegetables in their gardens. There were two types of
gardens: one where animals were kept and one for plants and
gardening.
A famous royal garden of the late Shang dynasty was the Terrace, Pond
and Park of the Spirit (Lingtai, Lingzhao Lingyou) built by King
Wenwang west of his capital city, Yin. The park was described in the
Shijing this way:

The Emperor makes his promenade in the Park of the Spirit,

The deer are kneeling on the grass, feeding their fawns,
The deer are beautiful and resplendent.
The immaculate cranes have plumes of a brilliant white.
The Emperor makes his promenade to the Pond of the Spirit,
The water is full of fish, who wriggle.
- translation in Jardins de Chine, ou la qute du paradis
Another early royal garden wasShaqui (theDunes of Sand), built by
the last Shang ruler,King Zhou. It was composed of an earth terrace,
ortai, which served as an observation platform in the center of a large
square park. According to theShiji, one of the most famous features of
this garden was theWine Pool and Meat Forest( ).
A large pool, big enough for several small boats, was constructed on
the palace grounds, with inner linings of polished oval shaped stones
from the sea shores. The pool was then filled with wine. A small island
was constructed in the middle of the pool, where trees were planted,
which had skewers of roasted meat hanging from their branches. King
Zhou and his friends and concubines drifted in their boats, drinking the
wine with their hands and eating the roasted meat from the trees.
Later Chinese philosophers and historians cited this garden as an
example of decadence and bad taste.
ZHOU DYNASTY
During the Spring and Autumn period (722481 BC), in 535 BC, the
Terrace of Shanghua, with lavishly decorated palaces, was built by
King Jing of the Zhou dynasty.

In 505 BC, an even more elaborate garden, the Terrace of Gusu, was
begun. It was located on the side of a mountain, and included a series
of terraces connected by galleries, along with a lake where boats in
the form of blue dragons navigated. From the highest terrace, a view
extended as far as Lake Tai, the Great Lake.
HAN DYNASTY
Gardens were designated as homes for animals used for hunting and
for enclosing an outside plot of ground for the emperor. After the Han
Dynasty (206 BC220 AD), gardens were places for the emperor to rest
and renew energy. Then, a garden was called a yuan ( ). The
imperial garden, Lin Yuan, added buildings and became a villa-like
escape for the emperor.
Another notable garden of the Han period was the Garden of General
Liang Ji built under Emperor Shun. Using a fortune amassed during his
twenty years in the imperial court, Liang Ji build an immense
landscape garden with artificial mountains, ravines and forests, filled
with rare birds and domesticated wild animals. This was one of the first
gardens that tried to create an idealized copy of nature.
TANG DYNASTY
first golden age of the classical garden
The Tang dynasty was considered the first golden age of the classical
Chinese garden. Emperor Xuanzong built a magnificent imperial
garden, the Garden of the Majestic Clear Lake, near Xian, and lived
there with his famous concubine, Consort Yang. The new gardens, were
inspired by classical legends and poems. There were shanchi yuan,
gardens with artificial mountains and ponds, inspired by the legend of
the isles of immortals, and shanting yuan, gardens with replicas of
mountains and small viewing houses, or pavilions. Even ordinary
residences had tiny gardens in their courtyards, with terracotta
mountains and small ponds. These Chinese classical gardens, or
scholar's gardens (wenren yuan), were inspired by, and in turn
inspired, classical Chinese poetry and painting. A notable example was
the Jante Valley Garden of the poet-painter and civil servant Wang Wei.
He bought the ruined villa of a poet, located near the mouth of a river
and a lake. He created twenty small landscape scenes within his
garden, with names such as the Garden of Magnolias, the Waving
Willows, the Kiosk in the Heart of the Bamboos, the Spring of the
Golden Powder, and the View-House beside the Lake. He wrote a poem
During the Tang dynasty, plant cultivation was developed to an
advanced level, with many plant species being grown by means of
plant introduction, domestication, transplantation, and grafting. The
aesthetic properties of plants were highlighted, while numerous books
on plant classification and cultivation were published. The economic
prosperity of the Tang dynasty led to the increasing construction of
classical gardens across all of China.
The last great garden of the Tang dynasty was the Hamlet of the
Mountain of the Serene Spring (Pingquan Shanzhuang), built east of
the city of Luoyang by Li Deyu, Grand Minister of the Tang Empire. The
garden was vast, with over a hundred pavilions and structures, but it
was most famous for its collection of exotic-shaped rocks and plants,
which he collected all over China. Rocks of unusual shapes, known as
Chinese Scholars' Rocks, often selected to portray the part of a
mountain or mountain range in a garden scene, gradually became an
essential feature of the Chinese garden.
SONG DYNASTY
There were two periods of the Song dynasty, northern and southern,
and both were known for the construction of famous gardens. Emperor
Huizong, a scholar himself, he integrated elements of the scholar
garden into his grand imperial garden. His first garden, called The
Basin of the Clarity of Gold, was an artificial lake surrounded by
terraces and pavilions. The public was invited into the garden in the
spring for boat races and spectacles on the lake. He had exotic plants
and picturesque rocks brought from around China for his garden. In the
center of his garden he had constructed an artificial mountain a
hundred meters high, with cliffs and ravines, which he named Genyue,
or "The Mountain of Stability." The garden was finished in 1122. In
1127, Emperor Huizong was forced to flee from the Song capital,
Kaifeng, when it came under attack by the armies of the Jurchen-led Jin
dynasty. When he returned (as a captive of the Jurchens), he found his
garden completely destroyed, all the pavilions burned and the art
works looted. Only the mountain remained.
The Garden of the Monastery of the Celestial Rulers in Luoyang was
famous for its peonies; the entire city came when they were in bloom.
The Garden of Multiple Springtimes was famous for its view of the
mountains. The most famous garden in Luoyang was The Garden of
Solitary Joy (Dule Yuan), built by Sima Guan. His garden had an area of
about 1.5 hectares. In the center was the Pavilion of Study, his library,
with five thousand volumes. To the north was an artificial lake, with a
small island, with a picturesque fisherman's hut. To the east was a
garden of medicinal herbs, and to the west was an artificial mountain,
with a belevedere at the summit to view the surrounding
neighborhoods. After fall of Kaifeng, the capital of the Song dynasty
was moved to Lin'an. The city of Lin'an soon had more than fifty
gardens built on the shore of the Western Lake. The other city in the
province famous for its gardens was Suzhou, where many scholars,
government officials and merchants built residences with gardens.
Some of these gardens still exist today, though most been much
altered over the centuries. The oldest Suzhou garden that can be seen
Song dynasty garden still in existence is the Master of the Nets Garden
in Suzhou. It was created in 1141 by Shi Zhengzhi. It had his library,
the Hall of Ten Thousand Volumes, and an adjacent garden called the
Fisherman's Retreat. It was extensively remodeled between 1736 and
1796, but it remains one of the best example of a Song Dynasty
Scholars Garden. In the city of Wuxi, on the edge of Lake Tai and at the
foot of two mountains, there were thirty four gardens recorded by the
Song dynasty historian Zhou Mi. The two most famous gardens, the
Garden of the North (Beiyuan) and the Garden of the South (Nanyuan),
both belonged to Shen Dehe, Grand Minister to Emperor Gaozong. The
Garden of the South was a classic mountain-and-lake (shanshui)
garden; it had a lake with an Island of Immortality (Penglai dao), on
which were three great boulders from Taihu. The Garden of the South
was a water garden, with five large lakes connected to Lake Taihu. A
terrace gave visitors a view of the lake and the mountains.
YUAN DYNASTY
The most famous garden of the Yuan dynasty was Kublai Khan's
summer palace and garden at Xanadu. The Venetian traveler Marco
Polo is believed to have visited Xanadu in about 1275, and described
the garden this way:

"Round this Palace a wall is built, inclosing a compass of 16 miles, and inside the
Park there are fountains and rivers and brooks, and beautiful meadows, with all kinds
of wild animals (excluding such as are of ferocious nature), which the Emperor has
procured and placed there to supply food for his gerfalcons and hawks, which he
keeps there in mew. Of these there are more than 200 gerfalcons alone, without
reckoning the other hawks. The Khan himself goes every week to see his birds sitting
in mew, and sometimes he rides through the park with a leopard behind him on his
horse's croup; and then if he sees any animal that takes his fancy, he slips his
leopard at it, and the game when taken is made over to feed the hawks in mew. This
he does for diversion."
Despite the Mongol invasion, the classical Chinese scholar's garden
continued to flourish in other parts of China. An excellent example was
the Lion Grove Garden in Suzhou. It was built in 1342, and took its
name from the collection of fantastic and grotesque assemblies of
rocks, taken from Lake Tai. Some of them were said to look like the
heads of lions. The Kangxi and Qianlong emperors of the Qing dynasty
each visited the garden several times, and used it as model for their
own summer garden, the Garden of Perfect Splendor.
MING DYNASTY
The most famous existing garden from the Ming dynasty is the Humble
Administrator's Garden in Suzhou. It was built during the reign of the
Zhengde Emperor by Wang Xianchen, a minor government
administrator. The garden has been much altered since it was built,
but the central part has survived; a large pond full of lotus blossoms,
surrounded by structures and pavilions designed as viewpoints of the
lake and gardens. The park has an island, the Fragrant Isle, shaped like
a boat. It also makes good use of the principle of the "borrowed view,"
(jiejing) carefully framing views of the surrounding mountains and a
famous view of a distant pagoda.
Another existing garden from the Ming dynasty is the Lingering
Garden, also in Suzhou, built during the reign of the Wanli Emperor.
During the Qing dynasty, twelve tall limestone rocks were added to the
garden, symbolizing mountains. The most famous was a picturesque
rock called the Auspicious Cloud-Capped Peak, which became a
centerpiece of the garden.
A third renowned Ming era garden in Suzhou is the Garden of
Cultivation, built during the reign of the Tianqi Emperor by the
grandson of Wen Zhengming, a famous Ming painter and calligrapher.
The garden is built around a pond, with the Longevity Pavilion on the
north side, the Fry Pavilion on the east side, a dramatic rock garden on
the south, and the creator's study, the Humble House, to the west.
QING DYNASTY
The Qing dynasty was the last dynasty of China. The most famous
gardens in China during this period were the Summer Palace and the Old
Summer Palace in Beijing. Both gardens became symbols of luxury and
refinement, and were widely described by European visitors. Father
Attiret, a French Jesuit who became court painter for the Qianlong
Emperor from 1738 to 1768, described the Jade Terrace of the Isle of
Immortality in the Lake of the Summer Palace:

"That which is a true jewel is a rock or island...which is in the middle of

this lake, on which is built a small palace, which contains one hundred
rooms or salons...of a beauty and a taste which I am not able to express
to you. The view is admirable
Their construction and improvement consumed a large part of the
imperial treasury. Empress Dowager Cixi famously diverted money
intended for the modernization of the Beiyang Fleet and used it to
restore the Summer Palace and the marble teahouse in the shape of boat
on Lake Kunming. Both the Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace were
destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion and by punitive expeditions of
European armies during the nineteenth century, but are now gradually
being restored.

In addition to the Old Summer Palace and Summer Palace, between 1703
and 1792 the Qing emperors built a new complex of gardens and palaces
in the mountains 200 kilometers northeast of Beijing, to escape the
summer heat of the capital. It was called the Chengde Mountain Resort,
and it occupied 560 hectares, with seventy-two separate landscape
views, recreating landscapes in miniature from many different parts of
China. This enormous garden has survived relatively intact.
The Wei Dynasty added a new twist of suggesting rivers and mountains for style, to
bring in more qualities of nature. Upper classes would travel to rivers and mountains for
pleasure, and liked the new title of the garden, which was "the garden with natural
mountains and rivers."

The contribution of the Sui and Tang dynasties to classical gardening was to bring facets
of art and literature into the make up of the garden. Descriptions and paintings were
meticulously copied to create gardens exactly like those seen or read about. The garden
was then renamed "the garden imitating mountains and rivers."

Following in that vein, the Song and Yuan dynasties took it a step further. Writers and
artists took active roles in garden design. Rocks were situated in spots more suited to
the gazing pleasure of the emperor.

Emperor Kangxi of the Ming Dynasty and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty again
brought focus to the building structures in the garden, but specifically to enhance
appearance. Buildings were added solely to create pleasant or striking scenery. The
royal garden evolved with time and changing tastes over the centuries and inspired
gardens in other areas of China.
FEATURES
OF
CHINESE
GARDENS
Layout and Design of Classic
Chinese Gardens
Chinese gardens arent laid out in a way that you
can see the entire garden all at once.
Instead,small scenes are set upso that as you
wander through the garden, you come upon
several intimate settings to view. Every scene is
well-planned and framed. Some elements that
arent actually in the garden are part of the design
as well. For example, some gardens purposely
have a view of a mountain from one of its many
scenes.
Chinese Garden Walls and Enclosures
Classical Chinese gardens were surrounded by a
white wall. The stark color contrast sets a nice
backdrop for the trees and flowers. Green leaves
and colorful blooms really stand out against a
white setting. Having a wall surrounding a garden
makes the area seem secluded, even if its not.
Sectioning off the garden makes the elements of
the area stick out and appear even more vibrant.
Walls will also block out surrounding buildings that
would otherwise interfere with the serenity of the
garden.
Windows and Doors

Windows and doors are an important architectural

feature of the Chinese garden. Sometimes they are
round (moon windows or a moon gate) or oval,
hexagonal or octagonal, or in the shape of a vase
or a piece of fruit. Sometimes they have highly
ornamental ceramic frames. The window may
carefully frame a branch of a pine tree, or a plum
tree in blossom, or another intimate garden scene.
Architecture in a Chinese Garden
The types of buildings that are included in a
Chinese garden have to do with whose garden it is.
For example, a scholar may have a library in their
garden. Some buildings have connected hallways
and pavilions, each of which will have a view of a
different area of the garden. Other Chinese
gardens have temples, bridges, galleries and
towers. Ideally, the buildings and structures in a
Chinese garden will complement the setting
instead of dominating it. The larger the garden,
the more buildings it will contain.
Classical gardens traditionally have these structures:
The pavilion of flowers (huating). Located near the residence,
The ceremony hall this building has a rear courtyard filled with flowers, plants,
(tingortang). A building used and a small rock garden.
for family celebrations or The pavilion facing the four directions (simian ting). This
ceremonies, usually with an building has folding or movable walls, for opening up a
interior courtyard, not far from panoramic view of the garden.
the entrance gate. The lotus pavilion (hehua ting). Built next to alotuspond, to
The principal pavilion see the flowers bloom and appreciate their aroma.
(dating), for the reception of The pavilion of mandarin ducks (yuanyang ting). This
guests, for banquets and for building is divided into two sections; one facing north used in
celebrating holidays, such as yard of pine trees summer, facing a lotus pond which provided
New Years and the Festival of cool air; and the southern part used in winter, with a courtyard
Lanterns. It often has a planted with pine trees, which remained evergreen, and plum
trees, whose blossoms announced the arrival of spring.
veranda around the building to
provide cool and shade.
In addition to these larger halls and pavilions, the garden is filled with
smaller pavilions, (also called ting) which are designed for providing
shelter from the sun or rain, for contemplating a scene, reciting a poem,
taking advantage of a breeze, or simply resting.
Pavilions might be located where the dawn can best be watched, where
the moonlight shines on the water, where autumn foliage is best seen,
where the rain can best be heard on the banana leaves, or where the
wind whistles through the bamboo stalks. They are sometimes attached
to the wall of another building or sometimes stood by themselves at
view points of the garden, by a pond or at the top of a hill. They often
are open on three sides.
Seasonal Pavilion
Some gardens contain aPavilion of Mandarin
Ducks, which is divided into two seasonal
sections. One section will face north, toward a
lotus pond. Cool air will blow into this part of the
pavilion during the summertime. The other section
will face south, toward a pine tree-filled courtyard
and plum trees. When the plum trees blossom, it
means that spring is on the way. There will also be
a pavilion set up forviewing autumn foliageand
small pavilions to escape to when it rains.
Gardens
Every Chinese garden has some type of rock
element. Some designers opt for a simple rock
garden, while others construct miniature
mountains from a collection of rocks. Sometimes
gardeners make mountains from both rocks and
dirt. Large, classic Chinese gardens will have a
huge faux mountain with a pavilion located at the
summit.

Rocks are chosen based on their shape, texture,

substance, color and softness. Limestone rocks
that have taken strange shapes due to erosion are
among the most valued rocks for Chinese
gardeners.
Gardens
Including a miniature mountain in the Chinese
garden isnt just for aesthetic appeal. Mountains
have symbolic meaning in Chinese culture, too.
Mountain peaks symbolize virtue and stability.
They also symbolize belief in the philosophy laid
out by Confucius. Also, the legend of the Isles of
the Immortals had a mountain peak as its main
focus point, which is why the mountain is a central
unit in several Chinese gardens.

Rock was used as an isolated sculpture, chosen for

its resemblance to whatever element or image one
wanted to evoke. Heaped together, stones could
form more complex mineral landscapes and
recreate real mountains.
Gardens

The artificial mountain (jiashan) or rock garden is

an integral element of Chinese classical gardens.
The mountain peak was a symbol of virtue,
stability and endurance in Confucian philosophy
and in the I Ching. A mountain peak on an island
was also a central part of the legend of the Isles of
the Immortals, and thus became a central element
in many classical gardens.
Gardens
Gardens also often feature two-story towers (lou or
ge), usually at the edge of the garden, with a lower
story made of stone and a whitewashed upper
story, two-thirds the height of the ground floor,
which provided a view from above of certain parts
of the garden or the distant scenery.

Some gardens have a picturesque stone pavilion in

the form of a boat, located in the pond. (called an
xie, fang, or shifang). These generally had three
parts; a kiosk with winged gables at the front, a
more intimate hall in the center, and a two story
structure with a panoramic view of the pond at the
rear.
Plants, Flowers and Trees
Plants are chosen carefully, dependent on their
texture, shape, color and fragrance. Some Chinese
gardens have a lotus pond with a nearby lotus
pavilion. Chinese gardeners choose the different
plant elements for their garden largely due to
fragrance.

Chinese gardens typically always have fragrant

flowers to set the atmosphere. Flowers and trees
also contrast with sharp, harsh architectural lines.
Sound is another element of Chinese gardens,
and when rain falls on the leaves of trees and
bushes, it creates a soothing sound.
 Scotch Pine
(Pinus sylvestris)

is a very important plant,

representing longevity and the
struggle for survival. Because it
stays green, it is, along with the
bamboo plant and the apricot
tree, one of the "three friends of
winter.
Magnolia tree

has traditionally represented

wealth. It is also the emblem of
Shangai.
 Azalea
together with the primrose and
the gentian, is considered one of
the "three famous flowers." The
azalea bush and the cuckoo bird
are said to be brother and sister
since, in April, the bird sings its
mournful song on the flowering
branches of this plant. There
are approximately 800 species
of azalea in the world, most of
which come from China.
 Moutan
is from China. It embodies
aristocracy, wealth and social
status. It is the queen of flowers,
or Chinese tree peony
paradoxically representing both
female beauty and, the yang,
the male principle. It may be
one of the first flowers ever to be
cultivated simply for
ornamental purposes. Initially
reserved for the emperor, then
the richest classes, it eventually
became accessible to all and was
grown throughout China. Marco
Polo, upon discovering Chinese
peonies at the of the 13th
century, called them "roses the
size of cabbages." The plant's
bark and roots are used in
medicine. The plants generally
bloom profusely in June.
 Chrysanthemum
also from China, produced the
large-flowered specimen we see
today. Once used for medicinal
purposes, this plant is now
appreciated for its ornamental
value and serves as a flavoring
in certain types of tea.
Sweet Osmanthus
(Osmanthus fragrans)
evokes autumn, the season
when it blooms. It is said to be
princely, elegant and eternal. It
is also associated with the moon
because, according to the
legend, that is where a hare
prepared an elixir of life in the
shadow of the sweet osmanthus
leaves. The creamy white
flowers give off a subtle yet long-
lasting scent similar to jasmine
and are used in tea, wine,
medicine and perfume.
Galleries

Galleries (lang) are narrow covered corridors

which connect the buildings, protect the visitors
from the rain and sun, and also help divide the
garden into different sections. These galleries are
rarely straight; they zigzag or are serpentine,
following the wall of the garden, the edge of the
pond, or climbing the hill of the rock garden. They
have small windows, sometimes round or in odd
geometric shapes, to give glimpses of the garden
or scenery to those passing through.
Bridges

Bridges are another common feature of the

Chinese garden. Like the galleries, they are rarely
straight, but zigzag or arch over the ponds,
suggesting the bridges of rural China, and
providing view points of the garden. Bridges are
often built from rough timber or stone-slab raised
pathways. Some gardens have brightly painted or
lacquered bridges, which give a light-hearted
feeling to the garden.
Water Elements
Water, which forms the Earth's arteries,
symbolizes both life and the feminine principle of
the universe (yin). Its flat surface works like a
mirror and seems to increase the dimensions of
the surroundings. Water is essential to the
representation of nature as a whole, and its
horizontal line counterbalances the effect of the
mountains. Water is one of the dominant, unifying
elements of this garden. In some places, rock
comes into contact with water; near the falls, large
rocks emerge from the water. Rock and water are
opposites: the water is yin, the rock yang. They are
opposites, but they are linked, since they are two
elements of a whole. From contrast and
complementarity, harmony is born.
Water Elements

The most common water element of a Chinese

garden is a pond. The pond is usually situated in
the center of the garden. Larger gardens will have
a lake instead of a pond. The other elements of the
garden will be arranged around the pond. Some
ponds have fish in them, like goldfish.

In China, water symbolizes communication and

dreams. A water element is also a welcome
complement to the rock garden and mountains.
Borrowed Scene

The term borrowed scenery refers to the

elements of a Chinese garden that actually lay
outside the garden walls. For example, if a pavilion
looks directly out to a faraway mountain top, this
would be considered borrowed scenery. These
views are often unexpected, because most people
dont think to look outside the garden walls when
in a Chinese garden. The views are deliberate,
however, and the garden is usually arranged
purposefully.
Borrowed Scene

According to Ji Cheng's 16th century book Yuanye,

"The Craft of Gardens," "borrowing scenery"
(jiejing) was the most important thing of a garden.
This could mean using scenes outside the garden,
such as a view of distant mountains or the trees in
the neighboring garden, to create the illusion that
garden was much bigger than it was. The most
famous example was the mist-shrouded view of
the North Temple Pagoda in Suzhou, seen in the
distance over the pond of the Humble
Administrator's Garden.
Borrowed Scene
But, as Ji Cheng wrote, it could also be "the immaculate
ribbon of a stream, animals, birds, fish, or other natural
elements (rain, wind, snow), or something less tangible,
such as a moonbeam, a reflection in a lake, morning
mist, or the red sky of a sunset." It could also be a
sound; he recommended locating a pavilion near a
temple, so that the chanted prayers could be heard;
planting fragrant flowers next to paths and pavilions, so
visitors would appreciate their aromas; that bird perches
be created to encourage birds to come to sing in the
garden, that streams be designed to make pleasant
sounds, and that banana trees be planted in courtyards
so the rain would patter on their leaves. "A judicious
'borrowing' does not have a reason." Ji Cheng wrote. "It
is born simply of feeling created by the beauty of a
scene.
Borrowed Scene
 EXAMPLES OF
CHINESE GARDENS
 Summer
Palace
The Summer Palace (Y H
Yun), northwest of Beijing,
is said to be the best
preserved imperial garden
in the world, and the largest
of its kind still in existence
in China. It was initially
built in 1750 by Emperor
Qianglong. The
architectural style of
Summer Palace is to make
others believe it is
inartificial. It covers an area
of 70 thousand square
meters and holds over 3000
houses.
 Summer
Palace
In 1860 and 1900 it was
destroyed by invaders and in
1912 it was rebuilt by the
Government of Qing
Dynasty. In 1924, it began to
be open to tourists.
The arched bridges, pretty
promenades, decorated
corridors, and breezeways
(a hallway that allows the
passage of a breeze between
structures) lead visitors
through ever-changing views
and scenery.
 Chengde
Mountain
Resort

Chengde Mountain Resort,

about a hundred miles
northeast of Beijing, was
constructed in 1703 and
finished eighty-nine years
later. Roughly 245 acres, it
is twice the size of the
Summer Palace Garden. It
assimilates tradition with
current practices to be
unparalleled in garden lore.
 Chengde
Mountain
Resort

It has the world's largest

royal hunting - the Mulan
Paddock; the largest royal
garden - the Summer
Resort; the greatest royal
temple group - the Eight
Temples in the north of the
Great Wall; the biggest
wooden Buddha statue - the
Kwan-yin Bodhisattva with
a thousand hands and a
thousand eyes, and the
shortest river - the Hot
River.
 Humble
Administrator's
Garden

The Humble Administrator's

Garden, built 1509 during
the Ming Dynasty, is the
largest and most renowned
classical landscape garden
in Suzhou, and is considered
"the mother of Chinese
gardens." It is one of the
four most famous gardens in
China.
 Humble
Administrator's
TakingGarden
water as the
mainline, the arrangement
in the garden is very natural
in space. The water is wide
and peaceful on the surface.
Pools are built in the center
with pavillion and lofts
standing around,
Louchuang and wingding
corridors connecting with
each other. Endless waters,
winding paths, sheer hills,
old trees, green bamboos
and all kinds of flowers
bring the tourists into a
quiet and far-away world.
 Lingering
Garden

Lingering Garden,
commissioned in 1593 by a
government official, has
been reconstructed several
times due to updating and
World War II, which left it in
ruins. This garden and the
Humble Administrator's
Garden are both in Suzhou,
about fifty miles west of
Shanghai.
 Lingering
Garden
The garden measures about
23,000 square meters or 5.6
acres. It is divided into four
distinctly themed sections
that are called East Garden,
Central Garden, West
Garden, and North Garden.
The Central Garden is the
oldest part, and it has
buildings around a pond.
The Eastern Garden has the
miniature mountain called
Shi Ping Peak that is
modeled after Tiantai
Mountain in Putao.
 Fisherman's
Garden
One other garden in Suzhou
is the Garden of the Master
of the Nets, or the
Fisherman's Garden.
Garden of Master of the
Nets consists of a residential
quarter and the garden
proper. Inside the refined
residential quarter, the halls
are linked closely by a
corridor. The garden, petite
but substantial, is focused
on a pond and decorated
with plants, rocks, pavilions,
and stone bridges.
 Lion Grove
Garden

Of all the famous rock-

gardens in history, only one
has survived. This is the so-
called 'Lion Garden' in
Suzhou . The garden is
famous for the large and
labyrinthine grotto of taihu
rocks at its center. The
name of the garden is
derived from the shape of
these rocks, which are said
to resemble lions.
Jichang Garden
Jichang Garden is located in
western suburban of Wuxi,
Jiangsu Province, China.
Jichang Garden is a famed
Chinese classical garden in
South China, and it was
claimed as a national
protected location of
historical and cultural relics
on 1988. Xiequ Garden
inside the Summer Palace
and Guo Ran Da Gong or,
Double-Crane House in
Yuanming Yuan in Beijing
both imitated Jichang
Garden.