Chinese Garden, Zürich

The China Garden Zurich is a Chinese garden at the Zurich Horn district of Seefeld in Zurich. It belongs to the group of temple gardens.

History

The garden is a gift from Zürich's Chinese partner town Kunming, with which this would bring their gratitude for Zurich's support for the development of the Kunming city drinking water supply and drainage expressed. The park was built from May to October 1993, management of the Parks Department of the City of Zurich by garden experts and craftsmen from Kunming and Zurich. It was opened by the then Mayor of Kunming and the then Mayor of Zurich Josef Estermann in spring 1994.

Was funding for the project from the water supply Zurich, its 125th anniversary in 1993. Since 2010, green city of Zurich is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the garden.

Structure

The garden is situated on a rectangular, surrounded by a low wall area. The central element is a pond with a small island in the middle. In addition, there are several buildings:

• On the south shore of the pond, the water palace with lakeside terrace. Inside there are some Chinese style furniture and two monumental paintings.
• In both directions lead open gallery transitions. The entablature adorn over 500 different landscapes and still lifes. The carved semi-circular arches over the bar are a specialty of Yunnan Province, with its capital Kunming. The northern gallery ends at a square pavilion.
• On the west bank of the pond, opposite the main entrance, stands on an artificial mountain that fulfills the function of a spirit wall.
• On the island there is a small round pavilion. From the west, it is served by a zigzag bridge, from the east by an arched bridge. To remind you of the island of Daoist immortals.
• In the north- east of the garden stands a Sechseckpavillon with Phoenix designs.

In addition, distributed in the park a variety of plants, shrubs, rocks, stones, waterfalls, characters and the like. Their arrangement is not random, but reflects the many references in particular to the Chinese symbolic language. Particular attention is paid to the main themes of Chinese culture, the so-called three friends in winter: bamboo, pine and winter cherry.

The location of China Garden was according to the Chinese geomancy, the identification of good places in space and landscape selected accordingly placed between mountain Zurich and Lake Zurich.