Chinese Village, Folly in Pushkin, Russia
Chinese Village is a group of ten decorative buildings with bright facades and Oriental-inspired architectural details located within a park setting. The structures combine European building traditions with ornamental elements designed to evoke an exotic appearance.
The complex was commissioned in the 1770s by the Russian empress to create a fantastical interpretation of Chinese design. The ambitious project was originally planned to include eighteen houses but was never fully completed.
The structures display architectural elements imitating China but interpreted through an 18th-century European viewpoint. This romanticized take on Oriental aesthetics becomes apparent when viewing the colorful facades and decorative details that blend Continental and imagined Eastern styles.
The site is currently not open to the public as it serves as accommodation for official guests. However, the exterior architecture can be viewed from the adjacent park pathways.
Three connecting bridges link the buildings, including one adorned with ornate zinc dragons and another decorated with pink granite vases. These passages are as carefully designed as the houses themselves and reveal the integrated nature of the entire composition.
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