Pictured: A representation of how the Chinese garden may look.
A Chinese Yi Garden has been gifted to Dublin City Council (DCC) by the city of Yangzhou, in China’s Jiangsu province, and will shortly take up its new residency in Dublin’s Herbert Park.
“Yi Garden” literally means garden of friendship and the structure, which measures 20 metres by 10 metres, contains traditional elements from the Jiangsu region, which is famous for its gardens, Islamic relics and ancient shrines.
The garden was originally exhibited at this year’s Bloom festival in the Phoenix Park, and was offered as a bridge of friendship connecting Ireland and China. A meeting of DCC’s South East Area Committee in July approved the installation, and due to its nature as a gift the project was later referred to and approved by the City Council.
NewsFour contacted Mr. Walter Pan, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy who said, “We were happy to learn of the news and are supportive of this friendly gesture by Yangzhou City.”
The Yi Garden, which will be located adjacent to the Herbert Park Hotel entrance, includes a shelter, planting, seating, a rockery, a pond and a waterfall.
This isn’t the first time a garden of this kind has been gifted from a Chinese city. St Anne’s Park in Clontarf contains an Irish Suzhou Garden, which was originally designed and constructed by the City of Suzhou Garden Bureau, for Bloom 2011. Bloom’s first-ever international show garden was presented as a gift from the Chinese people to the people of Ireland, to coincide with Dublin’s twinning with Beijing in 2011.
The cost of construction on the Herbert Park site will be covered by Yangzhou City, which will send over craftsmen from China. There will also be ancillary costs for Dublin City Council, which will be covered from the existing park budget. It is envisaged that works will commence in the autumn.
By Paul O’Rourke
