When it comes to Chinese gardens, they can be roughly divided into several major types such as royal gardens represented by Beijing, Jiangnan gardens represented by Jiangsu, and Lingnan gardens represented by Guangdong. If you want to talk about fame, Suzhou gardens are definitely one of the best in China. The Lingering Garden and Humble Administrator's Garden in the city not only belong to the four famous gardens in Jiangnan, but also occupy the second among the four famous gardens in China, so they can definitely be regarded as classic representatives of Jiangnan gardens and Chinese gardens.

Suzhou is the most famous garden in Jiangnan, but there are also excellent gardens in other cities. For example, Zhanyuan in Nanjing is one of them. It is on the same footing as Suzhou's Lingering Garden and Humble Administrator's Garden. It is also one of the four famous gardens in Jiangnan. It not only has a long history, rich culture, but also has a very exquisite design, known as the "No. 1 Garden in Jinling".

Zhanyuan is located in the core area of the Qinhuai Scenic Belt of Confucius Temple in Qinhuai District, Nanjing. It is the oldest existing classical garden of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing and the only open royal palace of the Ming Dynasty. It is famous for its rockery. Its name comes from Ouyang Xiu's poem "Looking at the Jade Hall, Like in the Sky" and was called the "No. 1 Garden in Nandu" as early as the Ming Dynasty.

To put it in detail, Zhanyuan has a very big name. Not only does its history go back to the early Ming Dynasty, but it has a history of more than 600 years, but its builder is also a famous name. The earliest was the King of Wu before Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, proclaimed himself emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang called himself the King of Wu). Later, recalling that the hero Xu Da had "never lived in peace", he specially gave this King of Wu to Xu Da, the King of Sun Yat-sen, as his mansion garden. Otherwise, it would be an exaggeration to say that he was a royal garden.

After this garden was given to Xu Da, it was repaired and expanded by the seventh, eighth and ninth generations of the Xu family. It had begun to take shape during the Wanli Period (the area at that time was much larger than this, and even the present Bailuzhou Park is also part of it), so even after the capital moved to Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, this garden was still very famous and had the reputation of the No. 1 garden in Southern Capital.

In the Qing Dynasty, this Ming Dynasty palace was changed into the left governor's office of Jiangnan Province. When Emperor Qianlong went to Jiangnan, he also stayed in this garden, and he also inscribed the garden with the plaque "Zhanyuan". Later, in the third year of Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty, after the Taiping Rebellion established Nanjing as its capital, Zhanyuan became the mansion of Yang Xiuqing, the deputy prime minister of Xia Guan, Lai Hanying's government office, and the mansion of Xiao Youhe, the Youxi King.

Unfortunately, in the third year of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing army captured Tianjing (Nanjing) and Zhanyuan was destroyed by soldiers. Although it has been rebuilt many times since then, it is no longer the original scenery of the garden. The scope is becoming increasingly narrow, the flowers and trees are withered, and the peaks and rocks are scattered. After the liberation, Professor Liu Dunzhen, a well-known Chinese ancient architecture expert, presided over the restoration and renovation of Zhanyuan. He not only retained the original pattern characteristics, but also made full use of the research results of classical gardens, introduced the new, and creatively inherited and developed China's excellent gardening art. It took 6 years and 1800 tons of Taihu Lake stone were used to give Zhanyuan a new look.

Later, as Zhanyuan, which was once the residence of Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King of the Taiping Rebellion, Lai Hanying, Deputy Prime Minister of Xia Guan, and Xiao Youhe, the Youxi King, naturally moved into Zhanyuan and became an important part of Zhanyuan. The 1987 edition of "Dream of the Red Chamber" and Zhao Yazhi's version of "The Legend of the New White Lady" successively came here to take pictures, becoming famous film and television shooting bases.

Now Zhanyuan is not only ranked among the four famous parks in the south of the Yangtze River and the top ten famous parks in China, but has also been promoted to a national key cultural relic protection unit and a national AAA-level tourist area. It is one of the core scenic spots in the Qinhuai River Scenic Belt of Confucius Temple. It is also the most famous garden representative in Nanjing, and many tourists from home and abroad come to visit it every day.

Although the Zhanyuan we can see now is only a small part of the original Zhanyuan, it still has its own characteristics. The entire Zhanyuan faces north to south, has a depth of 127 meters and a width of 123 meters from east to west. The entire park covers an area of 25100 square meters, including a construction area of 9600 square meters., and a landscaping area of 15500 square meters. There are 810 trees and shrubs in the park, and the bamboo area is 400 square meters.

A large plaque hangs above the gate of Zhanyuan, which is said to have been written by Zhao Puchu, former president of the Buddhist Association. The gate is in the eastern half. There is a light wall opposite the gate. In front of the light wall is an embossed of the Taiping Rebellion. Mountains, water and stones are the main scenery of Zhanyuan. East Zhanyuan has the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom History Museum exhibition area, water courtyard, lawn area, and ancient architectural area. West Zhanyuan has western rockery, south rockery, north rockery, Jingmiaotang and other scenic spots.

There is a pond in the backyard of Zhanyuan, and the center of the water courtyard is a pavilion on the second floor of the mountain top. The plaque on the pavilion is written by General Zhang Aiping. Standing on the pavilion, you can have a panoramic view of the whole garden from afar. The winding paths lead to the secluded scenery, with rockery trees, and the characteristics of the Jiangyuan Garden are vividly expressed.

The rockery in Zhanyuan is a major feature. The entire park covers an area of only 8 acres, and the rockery accounts for nearly half (about 3.7 acres). There are two large rockery in total, the south rockery and the north rockery. They are all stacked rockery, but the quality of the pile and the large area are indeed exquisite. The rockery in the south rockery stretches up and down, forming a crab-claw-shaped mountain ridge that clamps the water surface. Entering the rockery, you can also see a dissolved landscape imitating natural limestone in the dark, with several stalactites hanging, creating a landscape with rich levels and clear priorities. The plants on the mountain give this rockery full of vitality. There are two ancient trees in the northeast of the pool. They were planted in the Ming Dynasty and have been weathered for 600 years. The wisteria are intertwined and the privet is green and plump. There are also peonies, cherry blossoms, red maples, etc. dotted it, setting off the beautiful and colorful characteristics of Nanshi Mountain.

Zhanyuan is famous for its rockery and wins with its interesting stones. The rockery is the main scenery and backbone of the whole garden, and the south is the commanding height of the whole garden. It is composed of cliffs, main peaks, cave boxes, valleys, water caves, waterfalls, steps, stone paths, etc., showing the artistic effect of "one scroll replaces the mountains, and one spoon replaces the water". Achieving a majestic, steep, deep and natural artistic conception is "following the principles of nature and gaining the interest of nature". On the other side, there is the New Year Cold (or "Three Friends") Pavilion, The fan-shaped pavilion is hidden among evergreen trees such as camphor and privet.