Heyuan Garden is located at Huayuan Lane in Xuningmen Street of Yangzhou City. An official surnamed He of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) from Hubei Province spent 13 years building it as his residence, hence the garden’s name. It is the best preserved private garden in Yangzhou.

The garden is open and looks spacious due to its clever layout though in fact it’s not that big. Great originality is much in evidence in the designs of houses, pavilions and rockeries and the positioning of plants, flowers and stones. Unlike normal rockeries, all those in the Heyuan Garden sit comfortably against walls. The boat-based chamber sits on tiles and stones which have been set out to resemble water. A double-corridor system gives access to east and west gardens and the houses in the garden.

 

The Heyuan Garden is a Chinese architectural art with some Western influences. All the iron for railings and window glass were imported from abroad. The houses are also decorated with valuable western items.