The Chinese garden has a long history. It first appeared as early as the 11th century BC during the Zhou Dynasty in the form of a hunting preserve for emperors and nobles. During the Qin and Han dynasties, those natural preserves were made more beautiful and became places of recreation for imperial families.
Garden building had its heyday during the Ming and Qing dynasties and the imperial garden Yuanmingyuan (the Garden of Perfection and Light) was regarded as the masterwork of this period. Different from classical European gardens, in which geometric patterns dominate, Chinese gardensαre made to resemble natural landscapes on a smaller scale. Traditional Chinese gardens fall into three categories: imperial, private，and landscape gardens.
林佳（林巧洳）
