Looking at Yangzhou's history, the atmosphere of prosperity comes to your face.

Yangzhou, which is a rich country, is not only materially advanced, but also rich in spiritual culture. Of course, this was entirely due to the "struggle for wealth" among the salt merchants, who demonstrated their financial and material resources by building gardens.

After some extravagant operations, Yangzhou gardens became famous all over the world. They not only became a place that literati and literati longed for, but also a popular tourist attraction among emperors. Kangxi and Qianlong would always visit Yangzhou when they went to Jiangnan.

The "Record of Yangzhou Painted Boats" of the Qing Dynasty records: "Hangzhou wins with lakes and mountains, Suzhou wins with its cities, and Yangzhou wins with its gardens and pavilions. The three stand tall and strong." At that time, the best gardens in the world had to look at Yangzhou. According to statistics, there were more than 200 private gardens in Yangzhou at their peak.

However, due to various historical factors, the number of Yangzhou gardens has no choice but to decrease, and the momentum of garden construction is not as good as before. Fortunately, some of the preserved gardens still show their style and form unique Chinese cultural and artistic characteristics.

Slender West Lake: The prosperity of gardens is the best in the world

When visiting Yangzhou gardens, Slender West Lake is always ranked first. The various "struggles for wealth" of rich salt merchants in the past can be seen on both sides of today's Slender West Lake.

One is to show personal financial resources, and the other is to make the emperor happy. As a result, Slender West Lake formed a basic pattern during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty, and was known as "the flourishing garden, the best in the world".

Slender West Lake was originally named "Guarantee Lake". After Wang Hang, a Qiantang poet who came to Yangzhou during the Qianlong period, he couldn't help but be attracted by the scenery of Slender West Lake and wrote the poem "A Song of Guarantee River":"The weeping poplars continue to pick up the remnants, and the goose teeth on the Hongqiao are beautiful flowers. It is also a pot of gold, so it should be called Slender West Lake." The name of "Slender West Lake" has since spread.

The garden pavilion on Slender West Lake can be regarded as a classic masterpiece of Yangzhou gardens. It is large-scale, with pavilions and pavilions on both sides of the east and west sides.

According to the records of the "Yangzhou Painting Boat Record", there are twenty-four views of Slender West Lake."The two embankments are all surrounded by the water, and the towers reach the mountains.""The gardens and pavilions of more than ten families are integrated into one, and the momentum is consistent."

Today's scenery of Slender West Lake includes the Great Hongqiao Bridge, Changdi Chunliu, Wuting Bridge, Xiaojinshan, White Pagoda, Wangchun Tower, Xichun Terrace, Diaoyutai, etc. Among them, Wuting Bridge is a representative building of the Slender West Lake Garden and one of the landmark buildings in Yangzhou City. It is one of the top ten famous bridges in ancient China and is known as "the most beautiful bridge in China."

In 2014, Slender West Lake, one of the heritage sites of the "Grand Canal of China", was included in the World Cultural Heritage List.

Address: No. 28, Dahongqiao Road, Slender West Lake Scenic Area, Shugang, Yangzhou City

🎈Opening hours: January 1-June 30 06:00-17:30; July 1-October 31 06:00-22:00; November 1-December 31 06:00-17:30

Playing method: Day tour, night tour (daytime tickets are different from night tickets)

Recommended attractions: Shibi Liucong, Xichun Terrace, Wanhuayuan, Xiaojinshan, Xuyuan, Wuting Bridge, 24th Bridge.

Characteristics of summer night tours: light show tour, intangible cultural heritage cultural activities, night market

He Garden: The No. 1 Garden in the Late Qing Dynasty

As a model of Yang-style gardens, He Garden is one of the gardens that cannot be missed during a trip to Yangzhou.

He Garden, also known as "Jixiao Villa", is a Chinese classical garden building in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. It is also a representative work of Yangzhou gardens in the late Qing Dynasty. It is known as the "First Garden in the Late Qing Dynasty." Film and television dramas such as "Dream of the Red Chamber","Princess Huanzhu 3","Green Grass by the Riverside","Married to the Opposite Man on the Wrong Pallet" and "Tears in the Sky" have all taken scenes here.

He Garden was built in 1883 (during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty) by its owner, Qian Zhi. The main attractions include Fudao Corridor, Riding Building, etc. The whole park is divided into four parts: East Garden, West Garden, Garden Residential Courtyard, and Pishishan Mountain House.

The biggest feature of this garden is that it gives full play to the function and charm of the corridor building. The 1500-meter complex corridor is a rare sight in Chinese gardens.

It diverges left and right, connects high and low, surrounds mountains and water, and climbs into the room, forming an all-round three-dimensional landscape and all-weather sightseeing space. It gives full play to the beauty of Chinese garden art and the beauty of extending in all directions. It is the earliest prototype of an overpass in China and can be said to be It is the last finale of a large private garden in Yangzhou.

It is worth mentioning that He Yuan's architectural style is not entirely Chinese classical, but also incorporates French louvered doors and windows, French fireplaces, and Japanese sliding doors, such as Jade Embroidery Building. It can be seen that the identity of the owner of He Garden is extraordinary.

He Zhige is both an official and a businessman. When he was a young man, he had a prosperous official career and became a salt official. Therefore, he secretly managed the salt industry and had huge wealth. At the age of forty-nine, he resigned from Hubei and returned to Yangzhou. He invested heavily in good materials to build this private garden.

Address: No. 66 Xuningmen Street, Guangling District, Yangzhou City

🎈Opening hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the four seasons have been slightly adjusted, but there is little change

Highlights: Boat hall, restoration corridor, etc.

🎈Recommended play time: 2 hours

🎈Photography creation time: It is recommended to go early in the morning or near the evening. It is suitable for portrait photography. There are Han costumes, Republic of China costumes, etc. for rent.

Geyuan: One of the four famous parks in China

As "one of the four famous gardens in China", Geyuan is a private garden of Yangzhou salt merchants 'residences in the Qing Dynasty.

During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, it was expanded by Huang Zhiyun, the chief salt merchant of Lianghuai River, on the former site of Shouzhi Garden in the Ming Dynasty. It covers an area of 23000 square meters and is the largest and most completely preserved salt merchant residential garden in Yangzhou today.

It is understood that the origin of the name "Geyuan" is related to bamboo leaves. The owner of the garden especially loves bamboo. The name, scenery, and layout of the garden are all related to bamboo. The garden landscape is famous for its planting of green bamboos all over, and is famous for its rockery in spring, summer, autumn and winter.

The main attractions include Baoshan Tower, Qingyi Pavilion, Shuizuan Tower, Zhuqiu Pavilion, Yiyuxuan, and Miju Corridor.

Probably in accordance with Su Dongpo's meaning that "I would rather eat without meat than live without bamboo", Huang Zhiyun planted a large number of different varieties of bamboo (more than 60 varieties) when expanding the garden, and their number accounted for one third of the entire garden.

If there is bamboo, there will naturally be mountains. Rockery is a characteristic layout of garden construction.

The layout of the rockery in Geyuan is very special, giving people the beauty of "visiting the garden and experiencing spring, summer, autumn and winter".

These rockery are Chunshan, Xiashan, Qiushan and Dongshan respectively. The materials are bamboo shoots, lake stones, yellowstone, Xuanshi, etc. They are named like the four seasons, expressing the poetic meaning of "the spring scenery is beautiful and like laughter, the summer mountains are green and like drops, the autumn mountains are bright and clean like makeup, and the winter scenery is bleak and like sleeping."

The entire garden is centered on Yiyuxuan. Visitors can follow the trend and see the beautiful scenery of the four seasons, presenting the illusion that "although the area is small, the space is Judah". Such a stone-stone design and exquisite layout have been praised as an "isolated case in China" by Mr. Chen Congzhou, the master of the garden.

And I can't help but admire and marvel at the garden owner's meticulous thinking, artistic aesthetics, and spatial imagination. If you enter the park near the evening, you can go to see the rockery in the four seasons. The light and shadow of each bamboo, stone, water and pavilion intersect, creating a depth that cannot be penetrated into the garden.

Geyuan has won the titles of the third batch of "National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units" and the "First Batch of National Key Parks".

It is worth mentioning that in June 2014, the Grand Canal of China was included in the World Heritage List. As a salt merchant relic of the Grand Canal of China, Geyuan has also become a world cultural heritage, fully affirming Geyuan's role in Chinese gardens and world gardens. status.

Address: No. 10 Yanfu East Road, Guangling District, Yangzhou City

Highlights: Four seasons rockery, southern houses, bamboo ornamental areas, flower bureaus

Play time: 2 hours

🎈Opening hours: 7:30-17:00

Xiaopangu: Classical Garden Architecture

Xiaopangu is a classical garden building built in the Qing Dynasty and is hidden in Dingjiawan Dashu Lane.

Dingjiawan is the place that best embodies the ancient city of Yangzhou, and it is also the most lively atmosphere of life. Along the alley, I don't go to the widest place, and explore the deepest place as much as I know: a Jiangnan garden appears in front of me. In the park, rockery peaks are dangerous and dangerous, Cangyan explores water, deep valleys, and winding stone paths, hence the name "Xiaopangu".

This was purchased and rebuilt by Zhou Fu, the governor of the two rivers in the 30th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty.

The park is divided into two courtyards: the east and west courtyards. The west courtyard is large in scale. On the right side, there is a rock-like rockery, and on the left side, there are three meander-shaped nanmu flower halls. The water pavilion is connected with a rolling porch, and a clear pool is built behind the hall. A peach-shaped door is opened on the pink wall of the East Courtyard, with the inscription "Cong Cui".

The east courtyard has fish ponds, flower halls, bamboo trees, stalagmites, etc. Climbing mountains allows you to feel well, and exploring holes allows you to find tranquility.

However, whether it is the east courtyard or the west courtyard, the entire arrangement of mountains, waters, buildings and shore roads in the small pan valley is all unique, reflecting the exquisiteness of Yangzhou gardens. When viewed on a large scale, it is a scene, and when viewed on a small scale, it is a painting. Any corner is so beautiful that it is intoxicating.

🎈In Dashu Lane, Dingjiawan, Yangzhou City

🎈Opening hours: 8:00-16:30

🎈Recommended play time: 1 hour

Highlights: East Courtyard, Jiushitu Mountain, etc.

summary

In addition to the garden landscapes and private gardens highlighted above, Yangzhou gardens also include Yipu (next to Geyuan), Paolu, Lu's Salt Merchants Residence, Yechun Garden, Zhenyuan, Weipu, etc.

Although I haven't visited all Yangzhou gardens, I can only see from the garden representatives that Yangzhou gardens have both the poetic and artistic style of the south and the characteristics of the northern gardens (refer to He Yuan and Ge Yuan).

Some people analyzed that this was related to the southern tour of Kangxi and Qianlong. In order to cater to the emperors 'visits, salt merchants invited famous craftsmen from all over the country and drew on the garden characteristics of various places, forming the architectural differences between the north and south of Yangzhou City.

In my opinion, this is also closely related to water transport. In the Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou became the throat of water transportation and salt transportation from north to south, and salt merchants from all over the country gathered in Yangzhou.

When the salt merchants were building gardens, the technical exchange between the north and south gardeners began, which not only integrated the architectural sketches in the southern gardens, but also combined the height and grandeur of the northern gardens. Over time, Yangzhou gardens became their own style, majestic and beautiful.