Ge Garden: A Dream of Jiangnan Gardens

When the cold wind blows, Ge Garden in Yangzhou puts on its most charming outfit of the year. In this season, Ge Garden is no longer just a garden, but a colorful and layered work of art worth savoring. Ge Garden is a typical Jiangnan private garden, adjacent to the bustling Dongguan Street. In the 23rd year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1818 AD), Huang Zhiyun expanded the garden on the site of the Ming Dynasty Shouzhi Garden, forming today's Ge Garden. Although the overall architectural style of Ge Garden is mainly Jiangnan garden style, it also reflects the attempt of combining Chinese and Western styles in some details. However, this attempt is not the main feature of the architectural style of Ge Garden, but exists as an embellishment and supplement. It is said that the owner of the garden, Huang Zhiyun, loved bamboo, and the bamboo leaves were shaped like the Chinese character "个" (ge), so the "个" element was cleverly integrated into the architectural design of Ge Garden. For example, the windows, door lintels, and other details in the garden are decorated with the "个" shape, which not only adds to the artistic beauty of the garden but also reflects the aesthetic taste of the garden owner. Walking along the winding paths, shuttling between the rockeries, you will sometimes encounter a small pavilion, and sometimes see a clear pool of water reflecting the surrounding scenery. Ge Garden is also famous for its rockery art. The rockeries are numerous but not chaotic, and the ancient cypress trees on the rocks are lush, giving a sense of verdant greenery. The four-season rockeries in the garden are made of bamboo shoots, lake stones, yellow stones, and Xuan stones, showing the different scenery of the four seasons. During the Tongzhi reign, Ge Garden was sold to Li Wen'an, a salt merchant from Dantu, Zhenjiang. The Li family owned Ge Garden for 60 years, the longest time, during which they gradually improved Ge Garden, making it the most complete period of Ge Garden, and most of the rockeries were built with the ballast stones of the Li family's fleet. Today, Ge Garden is not only one of the top ten famous gardens in China, but also one of the heritage sites of the Yangzhou section of the Grand Canal, and has been listed as a World Cultural Heritage. Tips: Ge Garden is adjacent to Dongguan Street. After visiting Ge Garden, you can stroll around Dongguan Street, buy some Yangzhou gifts to take home, or take photos. We recommend the Assan Folk Huaiyang Cuisine restaurant on Dongguan Street.