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Jichang Garden

Heart of Hills and Waters

The Jichang Garden was established during the Ming Dynasty and is loved by Emperor Qianlong. The garden is situated at the eastern foot of Huishan Mountain in Wuxi, and can be roughly divided into two parts, with the mountain view on the west side and the lake view on the east side forming a delightful contrast.

The Jichang Garden 寄畅园 located at the eastern foot of Huishan Mountain in Wuxi, was established in the Ming Dynasty (1506-1521) and is a quiet and elegant garden in the south of the Yangtze River.

According to the landscape, the park can be divided into two parts, the west mountain scenic area are built according to the highs and lows of Huishan Mountain, which has buildings as Peripatetic Nest of Phoenix Valley 凤谷行窝, Manners Hall 秉礼堂 and Hanzhen House 含贞斋. The Eight Tunes Brooklet 八音涧 is one of the most exquisite spots here, where the rockery made of Huishan yellow stones is staggered in height, and water of Second Spring under Heaven is brought in from outside the wall into the rockery. With the water flowing along the rockery, the tinkling of the brooklet breaks the quietness of the mountains and forests, just like a visually performed orchestra.

Manywhere Trivia:
The original name of the garden was Qin Garden, and the Qin family of Wuxi was the descendants of Qin Guan, the literator and scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The narrow and winding path leads to the East Side Lake View Area with an open sight of the Jinhui Ripple Lake. Look up far, you can see the Dragon Light Pagoda standing on the top of the Xishan mountain, which becomes a perfect backdrop of the garden lakeside buildings. This is a best practice of the Borrowing Scenery Technique in Chinese gardening art.

The scenery of Jichang Garden is irresistible to anyone, even an emperor. Emperor Qianlong used to visit the south of the Yangtze River six times, and every time he passed through Wuxi, he came to Huishan mountain to see the beauty of the Jichang Garden. He also ordered the construction of a Huishan Garden (today’s Xiequ Garden), inside the Summer Palace in Beijing, which is modeled after the Jichang Garden.