The Chinese Garden (German: ''Chinagarten Zürich'') 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 Emperor of China, Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and t ...

in the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

city of

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. It is a gift from Zürich's Chinese partner town

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

, dedicated to the

Three Friends of Winter The Three Friends of Winter is an art motif that comprises the pine, bamboo, and plum. The Chinese celebrated the pine (松), bamboo (竹) and Chinese flowering plum (梅) together, for they observed that unlike many other plants these plants ...

Location and history

Zürich's Chinese garden is located in the city's Seefeld quarter, next to the Pavillon Le Corbusier between ''Blatterwiese'' and ''Bellerivestrasse'' and near to the ''

Zürichhorn Zürichhorn is a river delta on Zürichsee's eastern shore in the lower basin of the lake. The area is part of the parks and quays in the Seefeld (Zürich), Seefeld quarter of the city of Zürich in Switzerland. The gardens are one of the most popu ...

'' peninsula on the right shore of

Zürichsee Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...

. Ending winter season, the garden will be opened on March 18 to October 18, daily from 11:00 (am) to 19:00 (7 pm), even on Sundays and public holidays.

Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) is a public transport operator in the Swiss city of Zurich, and is wholly owned by the city. Previously known as the Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich (StStZ), the organisation was founded in 1896 and adopted its c ...

tram lines 2 and 4, together with bus line 33, serve nearby stops at ''Höschgasse'' or ''Fröhlichstrasse'', whilst bus lines 912 and 916 run from ''Bellevue'' to ''Chinagarten''. The garden is a gift by Zürich's Chinese partner town

, as thanks for Zürich's technical and scientific assistance in the development of the Kunming city drinking water supply and drainage. From May to October 1993, it was built under the direction of the Zürich garden department, in cooperation by garden experts and craftsmen from Kunming and Zürich, paid by Zürich city administration. Its official inauguration was in spring 1994, under participation of the now former mayor of Kunming City and Zürich's

Josef Estermann Josef Estermann (born 1956) is an Iranian philosopher and theologian, known for his studies in the domain of interculturality, indigenous philosophies and theologies of Abya Yala, and the Andean worldview. Biography Estermann was born in 1956 ...

. As from 2010 maintenance and operation are provided by

Grün Stadt Zürich Grün Stadt Zürich ( "Green City Zürich"), commonly shortened to GSZ, the Office of Parks and Open Spaces, is a division of the Civil Engineering and Waste Management Department of Switzerland, Swiss city of Zürich. The GSZ is responsible ...

, the City of Zürich's Office of Parks and Open Spaces being a service of the Civil Engineering and Waste Management Department.City of Zürich administration: Chinagarten

Landscaping and buildings

The garden covers an exactly rectangular terrain, surrounded by a low wall. Its central element is a

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

with a small island. The surrounding wall separates the outer mundane world from art, an ideal microcosm in the garden inside – offers protection against unwanted visitors, too. The wall has on three sides windows, with barred bamboo and lotus flower tiles. Eaves and final bricks as well as the frieze bear small sculptural figures, representing the

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...

of clouds. Wall corners and wall's top adorns the second of the nine dragon sons, ''

Chiwen ''Chiwen'' ( zh, c=蚩吻, p=''chīwěn'', w=''ch'ih-wen'', l=hornless-dragon mouth) is a roof ornamental motif in traditional Chinese architecture and art. ''Chiwen'' is also the name of a Chinese dragon that mixes features of a fish, and in Chi ...

'' dragon. The main portal (entrance) is emblazoned with a

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

on a golden plate, meaning ''China Garden''. Nine nail rows and the red color of the gate originally were reserved for the emperor. In China's

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

province, for 300 years they have been an essential architectural element of garden plants. The second door was originally named the second-last gate of the Imperial Court's inner rooms. The carved panels on both sides, are excerpts from Chinese tales. The artificial mountain represents the meaning of landscape – «Mountain und Water» – and is contrasting

Yin and Yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

. Rock formations are the bones in the body, focusing the garden. They also are sharing space and draw the viewer's gaze. A bridge is connecting the pavilion's island and the inner garden, reminding the island of immortals. The circular pavilion embodies the ''middle'', and so the fifth

cardinal direction The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the four main compass directions: north (N), south (S), east (E), and west (W). The corresponding azimuths ( clockwise horizontal angle from north) are 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. The ...

in the

culture of China Chinese culture () is one of the Cradle of civilization#Ancient China, world's earliest cultures, said to originate five thousand years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia called the Sinosphere as a whole ...

. His inscriptions refer to the water as a symbol of friendship between the cities of Kunming and Zürich. The hectagon

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

suggests lofty heights and snow drift in winter. His carvings are full of allegories: '' Phoenix'' as symbol of empress, and flowers as well as a symbol of female beauty. The pavilion's inside is showing symbols of good luck and landscapes. A square pavilion forms the entrance to the galleries and to the water palace. Its entrance shows two golden Phoenix'. A carved archway is devoted to the spring, a magpie and plum blossoms announce the newly waked life. Open galleries are adorned by more than 500 still lifes and landscapes. Its carved arche beams are a particular feature of the gardens of Yunnan. A short winding path symbolizes abundance and harmony. The water palace is the heart of the Chinese garden. The painting of its exterior walls, doors and windows is deliberately kept simple, so that visitors are able to concentrate to the inner qualities of the building. Its terrace opens to the water surface, showing all important elements of the garden, its rear garden is called ''garden of shadows''.

Plants and water world

The garden is an expression of one of the main themes of

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the Cradle of civilization#Ancient China, world's earliest cultures, said to originate five thousand years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia called the Sinosphere as a whole ...

, the «

» – three plants that together brave the cold season –

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

and

plum blossom ''Prunus mume'', the Chinese plum or Japanese apricot, is a tree species in the family Rosaceae. Along with bamboo, the plant is intimately associated with art, literature, and everyday life in China, from where it was then introduced to Kor ...

. The inscriptions and paintings point to the uniqueness of the culture of Yunnan and its influences from various ethnic groups. Trees and flowers represent the source of feelings and aspirations. In Zürich's Chinese garden, the local poplars are integrated in the overall design. The pond is lined with

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

s, as symbol of pure water and holyness. Also important are four

ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, , and ''Ginkgo'' is n ...

s between the open gallery and the northern wall.

Bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

is representing a forest, with its deep unique sound when wind is blowing.

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

symbolizes the male principle among the trees and a long life. The «

's» third part is the

, beginning to bloom in late winter, and therefore a joyful symbol of spring. Water is the central element, as a symbol of friendship between Kunming and Zurich. Entering the garden, the pond opens our view to all important elements of the garden.

References

External links

Chinagarten Zürich on City of Zürich administration website

3D Google Earth model of pavilion.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Garden Zurich Buildings and structures in Zurich Parks in Zurich Botanical gardens in Switzerland Chinese gardens China–Switzerland relations District 8 of Zurich