Geyuan, Classical garden in Yangzhou, China.
Geyuan is a classical Chinese garden in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, divided into four sections, each dedicated to a different season. Each section is built around a different type of rock combined with bamboo groves, pavilions, and small bodies of water.
In 1818, a salt merchant named Huang Zhiyun acquired the land and turned it into a private garden retreat. Bamboo was chosen as the main design element from the start, and the seasonal rock sections were added over time.
The garden's name comes from the way three bamboo leaves look in moonlight, together forming the Chinese character 个 (gè). Visitors walking through the bamboo sections today can see how the connection between plants, light, and written language shaped the overall design.
The garden has several entry points leading to different themed areas, so visitors can move through in any order. Coming at different times of year is worth it, since each section looks and feels different depending on the season.
The four rock types used in the garden each come from a different part of China, chosen to represent the look of each season rather than just label it. This use of regional stone as a stand-in for seasonal landscape is rarely carried out with such consistency in other classical gardens.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
