Gardens Tours in China
China has one of the longest continuous garden tradition of any country. Only West Asia (e.g. Egypt and Iraq) has an older tradition. With the opening up of China since the last decade of the twentieth century, Chinese gardens are becoming better known and easier to visit.
There are 3 types of Chinese garden - landscape parks, domestic courtyards and sacred gardens.
Travel arrangements for Chinese garden visiting
China has a good rail network but since the distances are long it is often best to use the airline network for internal flights. Foreigners may encounter language problems when booking rail tickets and air tickets but people are very willing to help and the learning of English is advancing rapidly. International flights are simpler because English is used and spoken in airports. Many tourists find it simpler to book a ticket for an organised garden tour, either from outside China or on arrival in China. See note on Chinese gardens and chronology of Chinese garden design. Tours can also be arranged through Chinese operators of tailor made garden tours.
Escorted Garden Tours in China
nights
Gardens of Harmonious Pleasure, departing 5th October 2009, 5th May and 5th October 2010
Shanghai: the Bund, the Botanic Garden, the Jade Buddha Temple, the Yuyuan, the Shanghai Museum and Xintiandi.Suzhou: the Lingering Garden, Tiger Hill, the Master of the Nets Garden, Surging Waves Garden and the Humble Administrator’s Garden.
Hangzhou: the West Lake, the Guo Zhuang garden, the Hangzhou Botanical Garden, the Six Harmonies Pagoda.
Beijing, the Hutongs, the Ming Tomb, the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven the Grand View Garden and the National Stadium in the Olympic Forest Park.
