The Seattle Chinese Garden is a partnership between Seattle and its Chinese sister city Chongqing. The garden is special for using a southern Chinese garden design. It is also near to other gardening sights on the South Seattle College grounds.
Activities
The Seattle Chinese Garden is on the grounds of the South Seattle College. The college has a large horticulture program. It also supports community garden efforts like the Chinese Garden.
Other garden sites at the South Seattle College include:
- South Seattle College Garden Store
- The garden center sells plants grown by students. The income supports the horticulture program.
- South Seattle College Arboretum
- The horticulture program’s demonstration garden. It is important for its dwarf conifer collection.
- Community Orchard of West Seattle
- Community gardening effort that shows urban farming.
History
Seattle and Chongqing became sister cities in 1983. Since then they have exchanged 200 missions sharing art, education, medicine and more.
Chongqing is a major city along the Yangtze River in southern China. It is important for its trade and industry. Chongqing is also one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 22 million people.
The Seattle Chinese Garden began in the late 1990s. Materials and a construction crew were sent to build the Song Mae Pavilion. In 2010 the Knowing the Spring Courtyard was completed.
Style
In the United States Chinese Gardens are often treated as one type of design. Many Chinese Gardens in the United States are in cities where Chinese immigrants settled. This resulted in the United States’ Chinese Gardens using a city design style with many courtyards and walls.
China has a wide range of garden design styles though. The Seattle Chinese Garden is special for using a country estate garden style. The garden has a courtyard, but also has trails through bamboo groves and beds of peonies.
