Lan Yuan, Dunedin Chinese Garden

Lan Yuan, Dunedin Chinese Garden was first proposed at the time of the city's sesqui-centennial celebrations in 1998. The garden is an authentic Chinese garden, having been created with the support of the Dunedin City Council and the Shanghai Municipal Government.

The design of the Garden evolved over a period of eight years to ensure authenticity and cultural accuracy, as well as practical functionality.

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's design and construction was closely supervised and influenced by the architect from the Shanghai Construction and Decoration Company and the Shanghai Museum.

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.

The Garden was blessed in June 2008 in the presence of New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Chinese ambassador Zhang Yuanyuan and opened to the public on 8 June 2008. An official opening of the garden was celebrated in September 2008.

Source Material: Lan Yuan, Dunedin Chinese Garden website