Characteristics of private gardens:

    "Attainment of natural beauty through human labor" was the guiding principle for construction of both imperial and private gardens. But private gardens are different from imperial gardens in many ways. In the first place, private gardens are much smaller, unlike imperial gardens that often occupy several hundred hectares. Private gardens are a part of people's homes and, therefore, are often found in urban centers.

    In comparison, imperial gardens are found on remote suburbs of the capital city. As the emperor's temporary abode, an imperial garden invariably contains a large complex of palace halls that served the needs of the emperor and his family, including, for example, a hall where the emperor granted audiences to his court ministers. Private gardens, however, were meant for private retreat and as such, were designed to afford a demeanor of urbanity and tranquility. In architectural style, private gardens are simple and refined, suiting the individual taste of their owners, while imperial gardens, even though refined, are magnificent and imposing enough to impress people with the imperial might.

Techniques employed in construction of private gardens:

    Though limited in size, classical gardens were designed to meet demanding requirements. There was the need to create a kind of surroundings liable to make people feel as if they were in the natural world. The various structures have to melt into such a surrounding while able to provide sufficient ease and comfort. The studies, in particular, must be quiet. What techniques were used to ensure that such requirements were to be met?

    In the first place, minute attention was paid to the distribution of the various structures in a garden to make it beautiful with a variety of scenes. As we can see in ancient gardens, a hall, a pavilion or a gaily-painted pleasure boat can constitute an object of visual beauty, so does an old tree, a grove of bamboo, or an artificial hill. While independent of one another, these, linked by a web of winding trails, present a picture beautiful with many things that are well spaced and proportioned.

    Taking a stroll along the trails in such a garden, we can always see something new a few steps ahead. Corridors are indispensable in ancient gardens found in the Jiang-Zhe area where it is hot and rainy in summer. They are winding, the same way as trails. Straight trails and corridors, as a

matter of fact, were a taboo to garden designing. Most corridors are built along the walls, either separated from the wall or against it. Gardens on hills invariably feature corridors winding up and down on the slopes. In many cases, corridors extend into the pond in a garden. Corridors often have windows in the shape of a gourd, a lotus flower, etc. which, together with flowers, bamboo groves and pavilions beyond, produce the same visual effect as traditional Chinese paintings.

   Secondly, ancient Chinese architects were good at reproducing natural scenes. Take artificial mountains, for example. Artificial mountains could be built either with rocks or earth. But in all cases architect would see to it that on no account must the mountains look like a neat row of sawteeth. Instead, they must look like real mountains, rising and falling on a rolling terrain. Miniature trees would be planted on such "mountains".

    Pains were also taken to make the ponds look natural, and never would it do to make the ponds look like swimming pools. Bridges would be built to partition the water surface if a pond was large enough. Lotus flowers would be grown in the pond, but would not cover the entire water surface. Besides, water would be diverted from one corner of the pond to the miniature lake at the foot of the artificial mountain. As we have already stated, attainment of natural beauty in things built by human labor is the overriding principle for design and construction of gardens in traditional Chinese style.

    Thirdly, minute attention was paid to architectural details. This principle had to be followed because private gardens left over from the past are always limited in size, thus allowing a close view of everything. Take the doors and windows, for examples. Doors differ from one another in shape - rectangular, octagonal or in the shape of the full moon or a plum flower. Like the doors, every window is an artwork with exquisite designs and in exotic shapes.

    On windows in ancient gardens in Suzhou, more than 100 different designs are counted. Moreover, doors and windows in traditional Chinese gardens, whether of bricks or timber, always feature decorative borders. The surface of the ground is often paved with carefully selected pebbles or bricks, in such a way as to form a variety of designs. Even though the bricks are close against one another, grass is planted in between them to make the designs livelier. Exotic rocks are used to build artificial mountains with, but more often than not, one single rock can be made into a landscape in miniature.

    These and other techniques were also used in construction of imperial gardens and, in many cases, some of the best-known private gardens were copied or modeled after. One example is the Garden of Harmonious Delight, one of the gardens within the Summer Palace, which is modeled after the Garden for Ease of Mind in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The best-known private gardens represent the essence of China's traditional architectural art, though not necessarily the highest architectural achievements made in ancient China. Many of these gardens are recognized worldwide for their historic and artistic importance, including the Garden of Lingering, Garden of the Humble Administrator and Garden of Lions in Suzhou on the UNESCO List of World Heritage.

    1 .The West Lake in Hangzhou has been one of China's best known scenic spots since ancient times.

    2.The "five gardns on three hills" refer to the Garden of Tranquility and Appropriateness on the Fragrance Hill, Garden of Light and Tranquility on the Jade Spring Hill, and Garden of Clear Ripples, Garden of Pleasant Spring and Garden of Perfect Splendor on the Longevity Hill.

    3. These include the Ladle Garden, Garden of Brightness and Garden of Luxurant Green, which are nowonthecampusoftheprestigious Peking University. The Tsinghua University, which is also as reputed as the Peking University, is named after theTsinghua Garden or Garden of Purityand Freshness.

    4. "Su" refers to Su Dongpo (1037-1101), a mostfamous poet and statesman ofthe Song Dynasty. Su Dongpo, aliasSu Shi, organized construction ofthe embankment to preventflooding of the West Lake when he served as controller-general of the city.

    5. Crisscrossed by rivers, Suzhou is often referred to as the'%/enice in China". The city affords a unique landscape with shops, restaurants, etc. lining the winding rivers.

    6. The bronze bull on the Kunming Lake supposedly has the magic powerto ward off flooding.

    7. The eight imperialist powers are Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the United States, Russia , Austria and Japan.