Zuibaichi () is a

Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

's suburban Songjiang District that dates back to the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. It occupies an area of 5

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s and is one of the five ancient Chinese gardens in Shanghai, along the

Guyi Garden Guyi Garden () is a classical Chinese garden in the town of Nanxiang in the suburban Jiading District of Shanghai, China. The garden is located about from the city centre. Designed in the typical style of a Jiangnan classical garden, Guyi Garde ...

, the

Yu Garden Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden (, Shanghainese ''Yuyoe'' , lit. ''Garden of Happiness'') is an extensive Chinese garden located beside the City God Temple in the northeast of the Old City of Shanghai at Huangpu District, Shanghai. It abuts the Yuyua ...

, the Garden of Autumn Vapors, and the Garden of Zigzag Stream.

History

The garden was first set up as the private villa of Zhu Zhichun, a

Jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

selected from

Imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

. Its size was rarely enlarged for hundreds of years until

Dong Qichang Dong Qichang (; courtesy name Xuanzai (玄宰); 1555–1636), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, politician, and art theorist of the later period of the Ming dynasty. Life as a scholar and calligrapher Dong Qichang was a native of Hua Ting (l ...

, a Chinese painter, calligrapher of the later period of the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, built several more ancient architectural complex on its original basis. In 1797, the garden began to be used as a foundling hospital until it was well repaired and reopened to the public in 1959. The garden's name lies in the famous Chinese poet Li Bai. It is said that if Li Bai was brought back to life and had a sightseeing here, he would certainly lingered on and forgot to return, just about drunk. Actually famous men of letters usually gathered together, making various poems on the fantastic landscape.

Scenery

Drunken Bai Garden has an architectural style of Chinese traditional garden which was inherited from architectures in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

: elegant pavilions, winding and zigzagging paves, carved beams and painted rafters. It was such a scenery of exceptional charm that it attracts an endless stream of tourists. Meanwhile, luxuriant plants can be seen in a blaze of colors here, especially lotus flowers that are in bloom in summer. To the north of the pond stands an ancient cinnamon tree which is over 300 years old.

Features

*Ancient Long Gallery *Crane Pavilion *Stone Sculpture *Xuehai Hall

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

allegedly held a speech in Xuehai Hall on December 27, 1912, during an inspection visit he undertook to Songjiang together with Chen Qimei and Dai Jitao . In this speech Sun addressed the further development of the newly founded

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, the problems left over by the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...

, and the education system. After finishing the address, Sun took a group photo with members of the Tongmenghui inside of the hall.

References

Gardens in Shanghai {{china-stub

History

Scenery

Features

See also

References