Shi Garden, also known as ‘Chen’s Garden’, is located on the South Street in Jiangyin city, covering an area of more than six acres. It was built by Chen Shijin, a native of Jiangyin and a master of landscape painting, in the fourth year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty (1854), on the vacant land next to his residence. The Chen family is a prominent family in Jiangyin, and Chen Shijin, with his ingenuity in garden design, inadvertently created this garden, hence the name Shi Garden.
This garden is simple yet elegant, embodying the characteristics of Jiangnan gardens. It features the ‘Cloud and Water Pavilion’, connected to the ‘Fragrance Crossing Corridor’ and ‘Curved Bridge’, leading to the ‘Autumn Sound Boat’. In front of the boat is the ‘Echo of Autumn Pavilion’, and behind it is the ‘Painting Exchange Pavilion’, named so because those who sought paintings had to exchange them with poems. Passing through the slanted corridor, one reaches the ‘Refreshing Pavilion’, which features a large mirror that captures the lake and mountain scenery. Following the corridor northward, there is an open hall named ‘Cloud-Surrounded Mountain Hall’. The western corner has a small room called ‘Autumn Enters the White Waves’. Adjacent to it is the ‘Peaceful Study’, which houses a collection of calligraphy and painting treasures from various dynasties, engraved on 45 stone tablets. The walls preserve the ‘Goose Exchange Stele’ by Jin Dynasty’s Wang Xizhi, landscape paintings by Yuan Dynasty’s Ni Zan, as well as calligraphic stone carvings by Ming Dynasty’s Liang Tongshu and Dong Qichang. Outside the eastern corridor, against the wall and next to the water, there are peculiar rocks piled into artificial mountains and tunnels, creating a deep and winding path. The garden is open all year round, accessible 24/7.Shi Garden: A Serene Haven in Jiangyin City
Shi Garden, also known as ‘Chen’s Garden’, is located on the South Street in Jiang[...]
