Shuihui Garden, Ming dynasty garden in Rugao, China
Shuihui Garden is a Ming Dynasty garden in Rugao designed with an intricate water system where rivers surround the entire grounds and stone bridges connect different areas. The complex contains historic structures, a museum, botanical collections featuring distinctive bonsai specimens, and other visitor areas.
The garden was founded during the Ming Dynasty by Mao Yiguan and developed over generations until it reached its current form under his great-grandson Mao Pijiang in the Qing Dynasty. This extended period of growth reflects the changing tastes and needs of successive eras.
The garden served as a residence for scholars and literary figures who created works and exchanged ideas within these spaces. Visitors today can walk through the rooms where this cultural life unfolded.
The garden is straightforward to explore since paths are clearly marked by bridges and walkways that guide visitors comfortably from one section to another. It is wise to allow plenty of time as the grounds cover a large area with many different zones to see.
The grounds house one of the oldest known bonsai trees, a centuries-old copper bonsai that is considered a botanical rarity. Additionally, one of the largest specimens of a particular pine variety grows here, documented in botanical records worldwide.
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