He Garden, Classical Chinese garden in Yangzhou, China

He Garden, also called Jixiao Villa, is a walled residence-garden of 14,000 square metres on Xuningmen Street in Yangzhou, of which 7,000 square metres are planted. A two-storey zigzagging cloister with patterned openings in its central wall links the halls and courtyards, and rockeries piled from separate stones create the look of ridges on flat ground. The grounds comprise the rear garden, the residential courtyards, the Sliced Stone Mountain Villa and the He family ancestral hall.

The garden was built in 1883 during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor by He Weijian on a former site that held the Garden of Double Pagoda Trees. This earlier garden was replaced to create the classical space that survives to the present day.

The name Jixiao Villa comes from two lines of Tao Yuanming's poem On Returning Home, chosen by owner He Zhidao. The site also incorporates the former Sliced Stone Mountain Villa, added in 1883. In the 1920s the family's fortunes declined, the residence changed hands, and the garden was briefly used as an amusement park.

The garden is open year-round and best explored on foot, allowing time to wander through the different sections at a leisurely pace. Wear comfortable shoes and pay attention to the pathways, as the garden has many small routes and transitions between areas.

The garden blends traditional Chinese design principles with Western architectural influences from the late imperial period. This mixture creates spaces that appear larger than their actual size through clever arrangement of sight lines and openings.