In a Chinese garden a strong belief in a sense of unity with nature as a benign wilderness, source of awe, magic and sustenance is required. What vibrates through and around the various elements of its composition was designed to ‘bring out the rhythm of nature’.
It purposefully blends together many different elements to create a remarkably integrated concept. Chinese gardens are constructed to recreate and miniaturize larger natural landscapes. Traditionally, Chinese gardens blend unique, ornate buildings with natural elements. These contains architecture, like a building or pavilion; decorative rocks and a rock garden; plants, trees and flowers; and water elements, like ponds.
The reason for this long history may reside in the ancient philosophy that has ruled the Chinese society for millennia. Chinese garden design has two definitive roots, ones from the ancient cultural, which has inspired a lot from a painting and then the layout, styles and designing the layouts of the garden.
Traditional Chinese Landscape design involves the combination of “ink” and “blank space”; “black” and “white”; “dos” and “not dos.”. It shows the Chinese understanding of nature’s simplicity and the world’s Yin and Yang. The interconnection of nature’s elements and manmade (civilian) elements shows the Chinese understanding of the relationship between human beings and the nature.
Layout and Design of Classic Chinese Gardens
Chinese Shanshui landscape design is a naturally styled landscape design. The goal of Shanshui landscape design is to create artistic space to help people keep their spiritual balance with inner peace .It shows the development of how Chinese people see natural beauty.
It comes to be more flexible in choosing and using the traditional gardening elements and combines the modern garden design method and gardening techniques to design a modern garden scenery which conforms to city culture and scenery characteristics, which not only embody the cultural heritage but also interpret the modern scenery garden design concept that gets rids of the stale and brings forth the fresh.
Chinese gardens aren’t laid out in a way that you can see the entire garden all at once. Instead, small scenes are set up so that as you wander through the garden, you come upon several intimate settings to view. Every scene is well-planned and framed. Some elements that aren’t actually in the garden are part of the design as well.
