Chinese Garden

Chinese Garden pavilion and moon gate
Location

Along Three-Mile Drive, just across from the Dahlia Trial Garden
Find it with Google

Path Type
Gravel
Type of Garden

The Garden of Harmonious Beauty is the perfect escape from a hectic world to a peaceful landscape of contemplation and renewal. Located on Three-Mile Drive just east of the Harrison Sculpture Garden, the garden incorporates the traditional Chinese garden features of architecture, rocks, water and plants. It is designed with elements of yin and yang, bright and dark, bold and gentle, fine and coarse to create an environment that stimulates both the senses and the spirit. Each one of these elements plays a crucial role in conveying the traditional Chinese principles of balance, harmony and the interconnectedness of all things. 

Enter the garden through the dramatic 8-foot Moon Gate, symbolic of casting off stress and tension. Follow the Chinese Garden pathway along the shoreline westward to the Tree Peony Garden. In Chinese culture, the peony is "the king of flowers" and a symbol of wealth. A nearby large willow, symbolizing purity and healing, provides a dramatic counterpoint with its gracefully swirling branches and rustling sounds. 

Continue along a meandering shoreline to enjoy picturesque pond views before arriving at the Peony Pavilion perched on the shore. The path continues to the Qinling Mountain Rocks which are symbolic of mountains — a special gift from the Shaanxi Provincial Government, The People’s Republic of China. Rocks are essential in Chinese gardens, representing mountains. The calligraphy translates “Beauty of Earth and Sky Gathered, Soul of Qin and Han Carried.”

For additional information, pick up a brochure in the Oswald Visitor Center or the Snyder Building lobby.

Garden Plants

For a full list of plants in the garden, check out our Plant Finder where you can search by location. 

  • Babylon weeping willow (Salix babylonica)
  • Bluestar (Amsonia 'Blue Ice')
  • Chinese rockii tree peony (Paeonia 'White Swallow Tail Flecked with Gold')
  • Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Country Fair Winds')
  • Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Louise Manelis')
  • Intersectional peony (Paeonia 'Smith Opus 2' Takara™)
  • Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum)
  • Weeping white willow (Salix alba 'Tristis')
  • Willow (Salix 'Flame')
  • Wormwood (Artemisia schmidtiana)
Blue Star Amsonia
Babylon tree
Green wormwood
Orange daylily
Japanese painted fern

Additional Photos

Red pavilion and pond
Red peony pavilion
Peony Pavilion from the overlook
Qinling rocks
Chinese garden in winter
White moon gate