Check in at Liangyuan Garden in Foshan, one of the "Four Famous Gardens of Lingnan"
I visited Lingnan Tiandi, Renwei Historical and Cultural Block, and Pinzi Street Historical and Cultural Block in Foshan. Then, following the "Foshan Old Town Tourist Route," I embarked on a wonderful Citywalk journey full of Lingnan charm. Along the way, I passed Lotus Square, Christian Lain Church, Guerdong Street, Kuai Zi Road, Gudong Street, Gaoji Street, Songfeng Road, and finally arrived at Liangyuan Garden.
Liangyuan Garden is located at 93 Xianfeng Ancient Road, Songfeng Road, Chancheng District, Foshan City, with a total area of 21,260 square meters. Liangyuan Garden is the general name of the private house garden of the Liang family in Foshan. It is a representative work of Lingnan gardens and is known as the "Four Famous Gardens of Lingnan" together with Yuyin Mountain House in Panyu, Qinghui Garden in Shunde, and Keyuan Garden in Dongguan.
Liangyuan Garden was built successively by Liang Airu, Liang Jiuhua, Liang Jiuzhang, and Liang Jiutu, four local famous poets and calligraphers of the Liang family, during the Jiaqing and Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty (1796–1850). By the Xianfeng years, the scale of Liangyuan Garden reached its peak.
Liangyuan Garden mainly includes Liang Airu's "Wu Dai Xie Zhai," Liang Jiuzhang's "Hanxiang Hall," Liang Jiuhua's "Qunxing Cottage," and Liang Jiutu's "Twelve Stone Mountain Zhai" and "Fenjiang Thatched Cottage," each with its own unique garden architecture. The garden's beautiful water, strange stones, and famous calligraphy are known as the "Three Treasures of Liangyuan Garden."
Liangyuan Garden has a sophisticated layout and elegant style. The garden is full of beautiful fruits, birds, and flowers. Pavilions, corridors, bridges, halls, and pavilions are all available, reflecting the garden owner's pursuit of individuality and free personality.
Liangyuan Garden is a typical representative of Lingnan literati gardens in the Qing Dynasty. The residence, ancestral hall, and garden are integrated. The Lingnan-style "garden" space changes constantly, and the garden scenery is arranged in an unconventional manner, pursuing elegance and nature, and is rich in the characteristics of Lingnan water towns.
In 1989, Liangyuan Garden was designated as a key provincial cultural relics protection unit in Guangdong Province. In 1997, it was named a patriotic education base in Foshan City. In 2022, Liangyuan Garden was rated as a national 3A-level scenic spot.
Figure 1: The exit gate of Liangyuan Garden;
Figures 2–8: Cishi Family Temple;
Cishi Family Temple is a typical Guangdong ancestral hall-style building, originally built to commemorate the 14th generation ancestor Liang Yucheng. It has a total area of more than 200 square meters, and its roof ridge and other components are decorated with traditional folk crafts such as wood carvings, stone carvings, brick carvings, and gray sculptures.
Figure 9: Moon gate in the garden;
Figures 10–12: Qunxing Cottage;
Qunxing Cottage in Liangyuan Garden was built by Liang Jiuhua in the middle and late Daoguang period and is a representative of Lingnan literati gardens. The buildings in the garden include Qunxing Cottage and Qiushuang Pavilion, which are connected by three round doors, and the stone courtyard is wonderful. The garden is full of strange rocks and lush flowers and trees. The layout is ingenious and full of the characteristics of Lingnan water towns. It is a place for the Liang family to gather and carries rich cultural connotations.
Figures 13–17: He Xiang Shui Xie;
He Xiang Shui Xie in Liangyuan Garden is built on a platform facing the water. It faces the Cishi Family Temple in the south and forms a summer scene of lotus and wind with the Taxodium distichum embankment and lake in the north. The waterside pavilion is light and transparent, with exquisite flower stands around it. It has a "thousand-year-old lychee root" inside, and its roof ridge is decorated with wood carvings, stone carvings, and brick carvings. Here, you can enjoy music, relax, and enjoy the beauty of Lingnan architecture.
Figures 18–20: Banbian Pavilion;
Banbian Pavilion in Liangyuan Garden is located next to the lake in Qunxing Cottage. It has a unique structure. The first floor is hexagonal and half-sided, and the second floor is square and complete, showing a half-sided shape. The roof is gentle, with flying eaves and brackets.
This pavilion is a work of the garden owner's "pursuit of imperfection," which means that "gold has no perfect purity, and man has no perfect person," warning future generations to prevent family failure, and embodies the cultural connotation and philosophy of life of the Liang family.