岭南园林
(lǐng nán yuán lín)

Lingnan Gardens

Southern Chinese gardens open, natural

Lingnan is known for a special type of traditional garden in China. Lingnan gardens aren’t like the private gardens in northern China, which are known for their large sizes and bold and grandiose architectural designs. And they are different from the classic gardens in the Yangtze River Delta region of eastern China, which feature elegant and exquisite structures such as pavilions, towers and zigzag verandas.

The exotic Lingnan gardens are a fusion of not only the architectural styles of Chinese gardens but also a number of building designs and materials imported from other parts of the world, particularly from Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.

The unique characteristics of Lingnan gardens can be attributed to their special geographic location and their unusual history.

Today, Lingnan gardens can be seen mainly in the Zhujiang River Delta in southern China, which used to be deemed as a remote area in ancient China, as it was far away from the political centers of the north.

Also, this was perhaps the first region in the country that began close contacts with the outside world, particularly Southeast Asia. The area produced the country’s largest number of emigrants in past centuries.

The development of Lingnan gardens can be divided roughly into four periods: the Nanyue Kingdom (204–111 BC), Nanhan Dynasty (917–971 AD), the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911) and modern times.

Among the earlier Lingnan gardens, the Yaozhou Garden is the best known. Located in the city of Guangzhou, capital of the southern province of Guangdong, the garden was built by Liu Yan, the first emperor of the Nanhan Dynasty, in 919 AD.

The garden, built around a semi-artificial lake that stretches 1,600 meters, is surrounded by many elegant halls, pavilions, water platforms and towers. In the middle of the lake, there’s a man-made island and, according to legends, this used to be the site where the emperor’s alchemists tried to concoct an elixir of life.

The Yaozhou (meaning the Isle of Elixir) Garden became the paradigm for all Lingnan gardens built in the following centuries.

After the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Lingnan area gradually became more and more affluent and as a result a fever of garden building began to rage across Guangdong Province, later reaching as far as neighboring areas in today’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Fujian Province and even Taiwan Province.

Also, the Lingnan-style gardens developed more distinctive features. Unlike classic gardens in eastern China, which were often built in cities with limited space where the builders had to use artificial hills to mimic natural scenes, Lingnan gardens were built in hilly areas away from the urban hustle and bustle.

For instance, both Qinghui Garden and Liang Garden were built in suburban areas of small towns near today’s city of Foshan, Guangdong Province.

Here the garden builders ingeniously included the natural environment, such as hills, waterways, trees and plants, into the gardens.

Contrary to the classic gardens in eastern China — which, despite their location in crowded cities were designed as reclusive places for retirement and solitude — the Lingnan gardens are more open and often deemed a better place for social life.

In addition, most Lingnan gardens have a main two-story building called a boat hall, which usually faces water in three directions and features elaborate wood carvings. Visitors may also find in these gardens pavilions built in Russian and Western European architectural styles.

Today, many extant Lingnan gardens have become tourist attractions and are listed as historical and cultural sites under local government protection.

Pictorial dictionary

·　船厅　(chuán tīng) boat hall

In most classic Chinese gardens, there’s a stationary stone boat, which is actually a boatshaped lakeside pavilion. For instance, in the Summer Palace in Beijing, there’s the renowned 36-meter-long “Marble Boat.”

However, such stone boats have evolved into “boat halls” after they were introduced into Lingnan gardens.

The boat halls, only roughly resembling the shape of a boat, are usually a waterside two-story structure. Many of them face water in three directions and are connected to the shore by a short bridge built in the shape of a gangplank.

It is said that such boat halls were a common place for the unmarried daughters of the garden owners to escape summer heat and do needlework. Water running under the hall worked as a natural air-conditioner.