New Chinese Garden for The Huntington
In 2003, Jin Chen, the landscape architect and the creative force behind the Chinese Garden, completed the garden plan. The lake was first filled in July 2006 and in August 2006 the Chinese Garden opened to the public for a six-month ?EUR??,,????'?????<
The Garden of Flowing Fragrance, Liu Fang Yuan, the new Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library, opens to the public on Feb. 23, 2008. The Huntington is near Pasadena, Calif., about 12 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The Huntington says the garden?EUR??,,????'?????<
China has the oldest continuous tradition of garden design in the world. The Huntington staff, in collaboration with Chinese architects, designers, and artisans, present and preserve Chinese culture through this ancient art form. The setting fulfills the essential elements described by Ming Dynasty garden masters for an ideal location?EUR??,,????'?????<
The Chinese Garden encompass 12 acres with the pavilion complexes linked by graceful winding pathways that let visitors discover ever changing vistas. Visitors will walk around a 1.5-acre lake bordered by highly sculptural Tai Hu rocks from near Suzhou, China and enjoy a landscape that includes thatched-roof pavilions with handcrafted lattice windows. The authentic quality of the pavilions is subverted by seismic considerations, this being earthquake country. The pavilions have steel skeletons wrapped in wooden columns. Another code concession was higher banisters on the hand-carved stone bridges. A stream and a canyon waterfall connect to the Japanese Garden built by Henry Edwards Huntington almost a century ago. Plants of China include camellias, pine and lotus. The decidedly non-Asian mature California oaks on site were all preserved. The Huntington comprises 120 acres of gardens, a botanical collection of over 14,000 different species of plants, three art galleries, collections of paintings, sculptures, rare books, manuscripts and decorative arts. For more info, visit huntington.org
