This garden has existed for more than 400 years. It was built by a private individual and shows a classical landscape in the Southern Chinese style. We walked through pavilions and halls, and beside rockeries and ponds. The landscaping was stunning and reflected the style as seen in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Although the garden is quite small for a public area, it is packed with more than 40 landscapes ingeniously separated by latticed walls, winding corridors, and lattice windows. This is a garden for wandering and exploring. We actually found a little corner where there were no other visitors for about four minutes so we enjoyed this luxury in what is one of the busiest cities in the world.
Tucked away in a corner of one of the pavilions we found a gift shop. We looked around for several minutes before a gentle lady came in and asked if we needed to know anything. There were some very interesting items but we were really not serious buyers so she returned to what ever she had been doing. The contrast between this and other "tourist shops" was amazing. In another corner we found an artists studio. Again we wandered around for quite a long time before the artist turned up with a pot of hot tea. The paintings were for sale but the artist appeared to speak no English so again there was absolutely no pressure to buy. We admired the many works and left.
The gardens are an attraction in their own right but we also found them to be a welcome relief from the outside hustle and bustle. They are situated in the ‘old’ part of town adjacent to an impressive teahouse and close to a tourist bazaar, shops and local markets. The whole area could take a day to explore but for those in a hurry, the main elements of the garden can be seen in an hour.
Open hours: 8.30am – 5pm