The Dunedin Chinese Garden was blessed in June 2008, in the presence of Prime Minister Helen Clark and Chinese ambassador Zhang Yuanyuan and opened to the public on 8 June 2008. The Dunedin Chinese Garden cost $7 million to construct. Approximately $1 million was raised through public donations, and the New Zealand Government contributed $3.75 million. The Garden is in the traditional yuanlin style, and was designed by Cao Yongkang of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Chen Ling of Tongji University, and Tan Yufeng of Shanghai Museum. They used as their basis the traditional gardens of the Jiangnan area, specifically because these gardens represent the apogee of Chinese garden style while at the same time being suitable for small sites in urban settings. The Garden was pre-fabricated and assembled in Shanghai on a site identical in size and shape to that in Dunedin, then dismantled and transported here where it was reconstructed by artisans and supervisors from Shanghai. When construction was complete, the Dunedin Chinese Garden Trust handed the Garden to the Dunedin City Council to manage and ensure its continued authenticity and integrity as a lasting footprint of Chinese identity and culture.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 03:33:05 +0000
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