A Chinese Garden in Germany

Qianyuan (the ‘Hidden Garden’) is a classic southern Chinese scholar’s garden that was gifted to Ruhr University (Germany) by its sister school, Tongji University of Shanghai, in 1990. Beginning with the original concept, this book illustrates the history and design of the garden through 29 themes, with abundant pictures and accompanying text. The garden draws on the Legend of Peach Blossom Spring, in which a fisherman who is drawn to a blossoming peach orchard accidentally discovers a hidden outcrop of paradise, which once discovered can never be found again (a plaque in the garden recounts the tale). Qianyuan has borrowed theory and techniques from the ancient Chinese gardening masterpiece The Garden Treatise, whose artistic language was influential in the creation of this Chinese ‘paradise’ in Germany. The garden is considered an important example of Sino-German cultural exchange. 

Text in English and Chinese.