THE CHINESE GARDEN OF FRIENDSHIP
- louisedalrymple7
- Nov 8, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 6, 2021
I came across the below article whilst browsing Sydney Open, an Interior and Architectural festival which was available online. It ties in perfectly with my focus on community and wellbeing, so I will be able to pull some inspiration from this.
"Chinese gardens are traditionally places where private contemplation promotes a sense of tranquillity, reinforcing the belief that harmony with nature promotes good health and long life"
"A living collection, incorporating many traditional elements of design, including landscape, built elements, views, and more philosophical elements of design, such as Feng Shui, Yin-Yang and the Five Elements the garden is an oasis in the heart of Sydney where nature can refresh the spirit and mind."
About the Gardens
"The CGOF are located in Darling Harbour, known as Tumbalong to the Eora people. For thousands of years, Aboriginal people managed land and water using ancient and dynamic adaptive systems―the harbour was a place of food, ritual, movement and observation. Colonisation saw dramatic impacts on Aboriginal lifeways as food sources and other traditional resources were harvested, exploited and depleted swiftly by the newcomers. Aboriginal people remained resilient and strong, while continuing to pass on knowledge and culture enriching our history and cultural lives today.
Shipping and international trade routes characterised Darling Harbour for much of the twentieth century, until the decline of the working harbour.
The CGOF was constructed as part of the redevelopment of the former railway good yards into the Darling Harbour precinct during the mid-1980s.
Initiated by the Chinese community of Sydney, the CGOF was built as a symbol of the enduring friendship between Sydney and the city of Guangzhou in the province of Guangdong. It is one of only a few public Chinese gardens outside mainland China. The CGOF was designed by the Guangdong Landscape Bureau in Guangzhou in China, and incorporates items manufactured in or salvaged from China, as well as elements sourced and crafted in NSW.
The CGOF were formally opened as part of Australia’s Bicentennial Celebrations on 17 January 1988, and listed on the NSW State Heritage Register 30 years later in 2018.
The NSW Government, through Place Management NSW, manages the Darling Harbour precinct, with a dedicated team of staff and gardeners for the CGOF."
A designed landscape
"The CGOF is a traditionally designed Southern Chinese ling nam style cultural landscape enclosed by a wave topped masonry wall, situated in the southern extent of Darling Harbour.
The garden is an intimate space of about one hectare. The carefully designed topography is gently undulating and reveals itself to the visitor gradually as you journey through the space. The created landscape inspires unity with nature and a sense of awe in the beauty and composition of nature. Carefully composed views and vistas embrace the mind and eye. Expressed through scenes layered of plants, symbolic rocks, arranged around a large central lake and smaller water bodies, that are further defined with a variety of traditionally designed timber pavilions and covered walkways."
The ling-nam garden forms:
Are derived from Guangzhou, which has a long history of international trade in which external influences arrived via the Silk Road and from over the seas. These influences express themselves as an open-mindedness, tolerance and practical application in garden design. The preparedness to borrow from other styles is evident.
Show the strictness of the northern and southern/central styles giving way to a more relaxed and adaptable style in the ling-nam garden. It is a mix of all styles, but its defining feature is the use of controlled and contrived natural forms. The play of water, mountain, rocks and plants reflect the rugged landscape of southern China and reflects a sense of wilderness but always in a controlled arrangement.
Utilise the subtropical climate, encouraging the notion of the outdoor and indoor relationship through which the garden pavilions are open to the environment and entice free movement between pavilion and garden.
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