Chinese garden architecture includes both grand imperial gardens and delicate private ones. They are all fine combinations of natural beauty and man-made scenery. The running water, hills and stones create an artistic ambience with exquisite layouts of flowers, trees, gardens, bridges, and inscribed boards and scrolls hung on hall pillars. Unlike Chinese gardens, their western counterparts have a strong emphasis on geometric principles and construction. Chinese gardens incorporate the belief that man is an integral part of nature and therefore give a lot of attention to the natural scenery and the feelings of visitors.

Chinese gardens are designed to stimulate one’s intellect and spirit while wandering in nature in an oasis of tranquility. While gardens in the West are planted, the Chinese have long thought of “building” one. Rather than imitate nature, architects and horticulturalists of Chinese gardens strive to recreate an ideal landscape in miniature. The natural elements—rock mountains, lakes, and trees, along with their qi, or energy—are brought together in harmony with architecture and poetry. Diverse city gardens of China have earned a place in the world's three systems of gardens.

Imperial gardens

Imperial gardens and private gardens each developed their own distinctive features over many years. The imperial gardens of Beijing, especially the Summary Palace, are considered the finest examples of that style. They are noted for their expensive size, grandeur and stateliness. Imperial gardens existed in the Zhou dynasty over three thousand years ago.

The most famous imperial garden in China, the Old Summer Palace in Beijing combines architectural styles of gardens from different parts of China. It also borrows some western architectural styles which make it even more splendid and fascinating. The Old Summer Palace, which is also known as the garden of gardens, also enjoys fame in Europe and has substantially influenced eighteenth century European gardens. Despite its influence, the palace was burned and destroyed in 1860 by British and French armies.

The Summer Palace landscape, dominated mainly by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, covers an area of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is under water. Its 70,000 square meters of building space features a variety of palaces, gardens and other ancient-style architectural structures. Well known for its large and priceless collection of cultural relics, it was among the first group of historical and cultural heritage sites in China to be placed under special state protection.

The Summer Palace, originally named Qingyi Yuan or the Garden of Clear Ripples, was first constructed in 1750. It was razed to the ground by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860. The Government of the Qing Dynasty started to rebuild it in 1886 with funds that it had misappropriated from the Imperial Navy and other sources. Renamed two years later as Yihe Yuan or the Garden of Health and Harmony, it was supposed to serve as a summer resort for the Empress Dowager Cixi. Known also as the Summer Palace, it was ravaged by the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers that invaded China in 1900. The damage was repaired in 1902. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Summer Palace has undergone several major renovations. Its major attractions such as the Four Great Regions, Suzhou Street, the Pavilion of Bright Scenery, the Hall of Serenity, the Wenchang Galleries and the Plowing and Weaving Scenery Area have been successively restored.

The Summer Palace is a monument to classical Chinese architecture, in terms of both garden design and construction. Borrowing scenes from surrounding landscapes, it radiates not only the grandeur of an imperial garden but also the beauty of nature in a seamless combination that best illustrates the guiding principle of traditional Chinese garden design: “The works of men should match the works of Heaven”. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List with the following comments:
1) The Summer Palace in Beijing is an outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole;
2) The Summer Palace epitomizes the philosophy and practice of Chinese garden design, which played a key role in the development of this cultural form throughout the east;
3) The imperial Chinese garden, illustrated by the Summer Palace, is a potent symbol of one of the major world civilizations.
Private Gardens

It was during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in Suzhou (Portland’s sister city), that private gardens reached a height of refinement and sophistication. The Suzhou Gardens are the most famous.

Included on the World Heritage List in 1997, Suzhou's ancient gardens typify the artistic characteristics of Chinese gardens. The history of Suzhou gardens reaches back more than two thousand years. There are at least ten famous gardens left today. They are usually small gardens with artificial hills, trees decorated with natural Chinese scenery and poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties. The layouts of the pavilions, ponds and bridges build complete and harmonious scenery despite their small size.

The gardens of Suzhou are epitome of landscaping art for the private garden, with their delicacy, intimacy, and simplicity. The designers of private gardens, not bound by the rigid conventions of the imperial court, had greater freedom of expression in their art. The ancient gardens of Suzhou were designed to be lived in as well as the houses to which they were attached, whose paths invited residents and their guests to wander, offering a new view at every bend’ pavilions; gazebos or simple seats offered comfortable spots in which to relax, chat, and perhaps to take some refreshments or pen a poem. This type of land