Arts & Culture Events/Public Cultural Agenda US West Coast

Grand Opening of Chinese Garden Expansion, Including New Pavilions, Art Gallery, and Café, on Track for May 2020

Written by Staff Writer

 Grand Opening of Chinese Garden Expansion, Including New Pavilions, Art Gallery, and Café, on Track for May 2020

Aug. 13, 2019

When complete, Liu Fang Yuan will be among the largest Chinese gardens in the world

SAN MARINO, Calif.— Nearly a year after breaking ground on the final phase of its renowned Chinese Garden, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens announced today that the project is on track for completion in May 2020. The opening of the new sections of the garden will be one of the keystone events of The Huntington’s yearlong Centennial Celebration, which gets underway this September.

The new features in Liu Fang Yuan 流芳園, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, will increase the garden’s footprint from the initial 3.5 acres to its long-planned 12 acres, making it one of the largest classical-style Chinese gardens in the world. Inspired by the centuries-old Chinese tradition of private scholars’ gardens, Liu Fang Yuan opened in 2008 with eight tile-roofed pavilions situated around a one-acre lake. In 2014, two new pavilions and a rock grotto were added.

One of the key elements of this final phase is an exhibition complex at the north end of the garden. Comprising a traditional scholar’s studio and an art gallery for changing displays, it will dramatically expand the possibilities for programming related to the garden. The inaugural exhibition in the new gallery, “A Garden of Words: The Calligraphy of Liu Fang Yuan,” is scheduled to open May 30.  A new, larger café with outdoor seating will also be located in this northern section (the existing, smaller café will serve tea and small bites), and a stream-side corridor and pavilion will offer scenic views. At the southern end of the lake, a hillside pavilion situated on the highest point in the garden will offer a view of the Mt. Wilson Observatory in the distance. To the west, an event space for larger gatherings will overlook the lake, and a courtyard complex will showcase displays of penjing (miniature landscapes similar to Japanese bonsai).

More than 50 Chinese artisans from the Suzhou Garden Development Company 苏州园林发展公司 are spending six months at The Huntington doing specialized carpentry, masonry, and tile work for the traditional structures in the final phase. Their hand-craftsmanship gives the garden its authenticity and beauty.

As with the earlier stages of the garden’s construction, this project is an international partnership between Chinese and American architects, contractors, and craftsmen. They all work together to ensure that the garden remains authentic to Chinese traditions of architecture and landscape design while meeting state and federal regulations for seismic safety and accessibility. Los Angeles architect Jim Fry developed the detailed construction plans for the expansion, based on the conceptual designs of the Suzhou Institute of Landscape Architecture Design in China. The Irvine-based construction engineering firm of Snyder Langston is overseeing building construction; BrightView of Calabasas is the landscape contractor.

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