Our country’s gardens have a long history. Its artistic principle of “although it is created by people, it seems to be open from the sky”, its comprehensive characteristics of integrating traditional architecture, literature, calligraphy and painting, sculpture and craftsmanship, etc., It is unique in the history of world gardens and enjoys a high status. Our country has a vast territory, and the climate, geographical conditions and products in the east, west, south, and north are different. Therefore, gardens often show obvious local characteristics. To sum up, the gardens in the Jiangnan area, the coastal areas of Guangdong and Sichuan in southern my country are more distinctive, so they have the so-called Jiangnan gardens, Lingnan gardens and Sichuan gardens. The garden styles around Beijing and in Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places are relatively similar, so they are collectively called northern gardens.
Jiangnan gardens are often an extension of residences. The site range is small, so more scenery must be created in a limited space. Therefore, "seeing the big from the small", "one should be used as ten" and "borrowing scenery to make a difference" Gardening techniques such as "scape" have been applied very flexibly, leaving many ingenious and exquisite masterpieces. For example, the small courtyard on the north side of Chunyi in the Master's Garden in Suzhou is very narrowly embedded between the study building and the boundary wall, and the gardener planted green bamboo, plantain, wintersweet and nandina here ingeniously. It is also dotted with several pine bark stalagmites. These plants and stone peaks are beautiful in appearance, do not take up much space, and are very attractive.
Lingnan gardens mainly refer to the ancient gardens in the Pearl River Delta area of ??Guangdong. The famous existing gardens include Shunde Qinghui Garden, Dongguan Keyuan, Panyu Yuyin Shanfang and Foshan Liang Garden, which are known as the "Four Famous Gardens in Lingnan". Lingnan has a hot climate, abundant sunshine, abundant rainfall, and a wide variety of plants. The pools in Lingnan Gardens are generally more regular. There is often a long building facing the pool to the south, with a wide corridor. The other sides are surrounded by verandas, and covered bridges are built across the water to minimize the sun exposure during the tour. The rest of the buildings are also relatively concentrated, often with gardens within gardens, leaving enough space for planting flowers and trees. Influenced by local paintings and arts and crafts, Lingnan garden architecture has rich colors and rich and diverse architectural carving patterns.
Sichuan Gardens, although Sichuan is located in the southwest, it has a long history and developed culture. The gardens there also have a long history and are rich in their own characteristics. Sichuan gardens pay more attention to the accumulation of cultural connotations, and some famous gardens are often associated with anecdotes of celebrities in history. For example, the Wenjun Well in Qionglai County is said to have been built on the site of a wine shop opened by Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun in the Western Han Dynasty. The Well Garden covers an area of ??more than 10 acres, with Qintai, Moon Pond, rockery, etc. as the main scenery. Another example is Chengdu Du Fu Thatched Cottage, Wuhou Temple, Meizhou Sansu Temple, Jiangyou Taibai Hometown and other gardens, all with the theme of commemorating historical celebrities. Secondly, gardens in central Sichuan often show a simple and honest style, often integrating pastoral scenery into the garden. In addition, the buildings in the garden have also absorbed more of the elegant and simple style of Sichuan folk houses. The gable decorations, raised roofs, wells, lamp holders and other small details still retain the ancient style.
Beijing is the place with the highest concentration of gardens among the cities in northern my country, most of which were gardens of ancient emperors. These royal gardens were built with the concentration of manpower, material and financial resources across the country. They are large in scale and well-constructed, and are the essence of my country's classical gardens.
In addition, some ancient gardens with a long history have been preserved in the north, such as the garden of Jiangzhou Prefectural Office in Xinjiangyuan, Shanxi (ancient name is Jiangshou Ju Garden), which was built in the 16th year of Emperor Kaihuang’s reign in the Sui Dynasty. (596), the hills and gullies still remain, and it is the earliest remaining garden site in my country. Another example is Songyang Academy in Dengfeng, Henan, and Tieshan Garden in Kongfu, Qufu, Shandong, etc., which are also representative works of commemorative gardens in the north. Generally speaking, gardens in Jiangnan are more elegant and beautiful, gardens in Lingnan are more gorgeous and delicate, and gardens in Sichuan are relatively simple and elegant.