Museum of Chinese Gardens Opens on the International Museum Day

One permanent exhibition celebrating Chinese garden design opens on the International Museum Day. The Museum of Chinese Gardens in Beijing displays the importance of wider cultural elements in Chinese gardens.

This is one of the biggest Chinese garden museums of its kind. All types of Chinese garden are on display here. The centrepiece of the main venue is this exquisite diorama, a micro-version of the Yuanmingyuan royal garden from the 19th century, considered to be the crown jewel in Chinese garden design.

The buildings, trees, landscapes and human figures are in perfect proportion to the real garden. The more than 15,000 sculptures here took designers over 10 years to complete.

Yuanmingyuan is a formal royal garden, whereas the Chang Garden here, from Suzhou, is quite different. The replica presents a small, but exquisite, design.

Wu Di, guide of museum of Chinese gardens, said, "You see the roof of this pavilion is in the shape of a boat. It is a way to express the owner’s hope of getting away from worldly troubles and being amongst nature."

Liu Xu, deputy of construction director of museum of Chinese gardens, said, "We have remade every part of the classic Chinese garden and presented the variety of traditional gardens from different parts of the country."

The garden museum covers over 60 thousand square metres, containing some of the best Chinese garden designs in history. Its doors open to the public to coincide with the official opening of the 2013 Beijing Garden Expo.