CHINESE GARDENS

AND LANDSCAPE
Submitted To :
Ar. Prachi Choudhary
Ar. Akanksha Vyas

What is landscape ?
Landscape designis
an independent
profession and a
design and art
tradition, practised by
landscape designers,
combiningnatureand
culture. In
contemporary
practice landscape
design bridges
betweenlandscape
architectureand
garden design

Aim of landscape design..

The primary aim of
landscape design is
to use plants to
beautify a property
and to enhance the
visual appearance of
a facility.

Asian Gardens :
Japanese gardens
Chinese gardens
Persian gardens
Indian gardens

Philosophy
Even though everything [in the garden] is the work of
man, it must appear to have been created by heaven Ji Cheng
"Chinese classical gardens are a perfect integration of
nature and work by man - Zhou Ganzhi ( President of
the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture )
The zig-zag bridge in the Humble Administrator's Garden
illustrates the proverb, "By detours, access to secrets."

History :
Five thousand years of
experience in garden building
is significant, and theShang
(16001046 BC)andZhou
(1045256 BC)dynasties
were the beginning of
gardening as functional and
visually appealing additions to
the emperor's abode.
Gardens were designated as
homes for animals used for
hunting and for enclosing an
outside plot of ground for the
emperor.

History ..
After theHan Dynasty (206 BC220 AD), gardens
were places for the emperor to rest and renew energy.
Then, a garden was called ayuan.
The imperial garden, Lin Yuan, added buildings and
became a villa-like escape for the emperor.
The Lin Garden was embellished with little palaces,
pavilions and rooms on little islands in a pond, and
plants were added for beautification.
This technique of garden development is attributed to
theQin (221206 BC)and Han dynasties.

History ..
Emperor Kangxi of
theMing Dynasty (1386
1644)and Emperor
Qianlong of theQing
Dynasty (16441911)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.

Chinese Gardens
The Chinese gardens are
also called as Chinese
classical gardens is a
place for solitary or social
contemplation of nature .
It has been regarded the
most important and
leading gardening system
among the three
gardening systems in the
world.
The Chinese consider
gardens a serious art
form and as with
painting, sculpture and
poetry aim.

Types
Two Types The Imperial garden & The private
garden.
Imperial gardens are mostly found in north China, with
those in Beijing as representatives, featuring
grandness and magnificence.
Private gardens are mostly found in south China,
especially in cities in south of the Yangtze River,
such as Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing and Hangzhou.
Private gardens were designed and created as a place
of retreat for the ancient scholars to escape the chaos
of the city and have private relaxation.

Characteristics
The creation of classical
Chinese gardens
depended on mountains,
rivers, buildings ,plants,
animals and even the
weather.
In these gardens usually
the ground is like that of
a mountain area.
This kind of garden layout
imitates real terrain.
Chinese scholars rocks,
are used both for
structural and sculptural
purposes.

Elements
Artificial mountains
Rock gardens
Water
Flowers ,
Plants & trees
Structures walkways ,
pavilions , bridges

Elements Rocks
Decorative rocks,
sometimes termed
Chinese scholars rocks,
are used both for
structural and sculptural
purposes.
During the Song dynasty,
they were the most
expensive objects in the
empire.
In smaller classical
gardens, a single scholar
rockrepresents a
mountain, or a row of
rocks represents a
mountain range.

Water
Water is the blood of a
traditional Chinese
garden.
The most important
element of a garden is
water, in any form:
ponds, lakes, streams,
rivers and water-falls.
Gardens will have a
single lake with one or
more streams coming
into the lake, with
bridges crossing the
streams.

Garden Plants & Trees

Trees and flowers,
especially in private
gardens, are carefully
selected for the overall
layout of the gardens,
because of the limited
space.
Plants and flowers
reflecting the beauty of the
four seasons are planted.
They represent nature in its
most vivid form.
The pine,bambooand
Chineseplum(Prunus
mume) were considered the
"Three Friends of
Winter" ( ).

CHINESE PLUM
PEONY

PINE
AZALAE

BAMBOO
LOTUS

Structure :
The most important structures of
garden ground are walkways,
pavilions and bridges.
Timber frame construction plays a
decisive role here.
Chinese gardens are filled with
architecture; halls, pavilions,
temples, galleries, bridges,
kiosks, and towers, occupying a
large part of the space.
Gardens also often feature twostory towers), usually at the edge
of the garden , which provided a
view from above of certain parts
of the garden or the distant
scenery.
Bridges are another common
feature of the Chinese garden .
Bridges are often built from rough
timber or stone-slab raised
pathways.
Gardens also often include small,
austere houses for solitude and
meditation, sometimes in the

Case Study :
(Nature within walls)
The Chinese Garden
Court at The
Metropolitan
Museum of Art

Based on a real part of a

southern Chinese classical
garden in Suzhou, named
Wangshiyuan, which means
Garden of the Master of the
Fishing Nets.

Using Wangshiyuan as a
model, a group of Chinese
craftsmen constructed this
court with traditional tools,
using both man-made and
natural materials, to make
a replica of Chinese
classical gardens.

 Entering the exhibition hall,

there exists the typical fourdirection oriented courtyard
with a half-pavilion structure on
the left and a meandering
covered corridor on the right.
Within the courtyard, decorative
plants and rocks are distributed
naturally along the four sides.
To reveal the authentic Chinese
garden as much as possible,
featured materials are imported
from China such as Taihu stones
and Nan wood.
The left-side wall is painted
white with gray eaves, which is
common for southern Gardens .
It immediately creates a quiet
and clean space for visitors to
relax.
Against the wall, the halfpavilion, with warm yellow light,
is set as the main structure and
focal point. The curve of the
wood-backs on the stone seats
is in line with how ladies sit
elegantly, which gives this
treatment the nameBeautys
Back.

To the pavilions left is the Deep

Jade Green Spring. The constant
sound of flowing water and the
presence of goldfish in the
spring add delicate color and
liveliness into the entire design.

To the right is a display showing

the rough Taihu stones. These
are juxtaposed with the fine
groundcover plants which have
different textures. An eyecatching banana stands upright
to echo the form of the pavilion.

On the right side of the

courtyard is the winding corridor
with Oleanders and stone
decorations against the wall .

One of the detailed treatments

in classical architectural design
is the drip-tile on the edge of
the eave. Their triangular shape
directs rainwater into streams
that finally run off the pointed
end.

The patterns on these tiles

represent good fortune,
longevity, and wealth and there
are similar patterns on the tops
and under the eaves of the
pavilion .

with its various patterns

on it . It extend the sight
line to the green spaces,
or other beautiful views
behind it.

The transition between

materials : from the
planting bed to the
ground pavement. Tile
elements are applied
here to avoid hard,
straight-cut edges.

The groundcover plants

naturally extend and
merge with the
pavement which blurs
the actual boundary.
Several scattered rocks
of different heights vary
the elevation so that the
transition from the
ground level to the tree
is smooth.

where the veranda ends

between two different
scales and patterns of
hardscape, the extremely

Assessment :

This case study shows a

glimpse of a Chinese
classical garden, and at
the same time includes
most of the prominent
features that such a
garden would have.

It is successful because
those who encounter it
truly enjoy the peace
that this place creates.

Its interesting to see

non-Chinese visitors
wandering in the
courtyard space, taking
pictures, and wondering
about the exotic
atmosphere this garden
creates, while Chinese
citizens are sitting down,
relaxing, chatting, and
enjoying an environment
that they feel
comfortable in.

Thank you !

www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/architecture/history-garden.htm

Referenc
es

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_garden
http://www.allchinanet.com/chinese_garden/chinese_garden_philosophy.shtml
http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/architecture/chinese-garden.htm