This is a garden that I have wanted to visit for a while, but never had the time to visit until recently. The garden opened on the 17th January 1988, being designed and built to show the friendship between the sister states of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia and Guangdong in China (along with sister cities Sydney and Guangzhou). Within the garden, there is a wall with two dragons (representing majesty and perfection in Chinese culture) on it-a brown one for Guangdong and blue for NSW.

The garden was designed by Chinese landscape architects but built by Australian craftsmen. As with any Chinese garden, there is a focus on Yin and Yang, which are forces that oppose each other while also complimenting and balancing each other out. Another focus of the design is ‘Wu-Xiang’, the fire elements or phases of wood, fire, earth, metal and water-these stress the fact that ‘Qi’ is important as the central force of life and energy. If any of these principles were missing, the harmony and balance of the garden would be disrupted, but if combined together in perfect combination, they allow a calming garden in which to pass time. Every item in the garden has to be chosen with care and placed in exactly the right place to include all five elements, the flow of Qi and the balance of Yin-Yang.

Chinese garden design dates back roughly 3000 years, when the imperial parks of the Shang Dynasty were being designed. Later on, these designs were applied on a smaller scale in the private gardens of China’s rich and powerful people. Sydney’s Chinese Garden of Friendship is a small-scale version of a private garden from this era. Within a Chinese garden, formal garden beds and lawns don’t exist. Instead, wild features of nature are recreated. The landscape recreated includes waterfalls, mountains, lakes and forests.

I visited the garden on a sunny, warm, late autumn day. I really enjoyed walking around in the sun, taking in the calming and relaxing nature of the garden. Even though the garden was busy on the day I visited, it didn’t seem overcrowded and noisy, everyone (young, old, teenagers and everyone in between) was smiling, happy and enjoying themselves. I found this aspect of the garden even better in some ways, as I often find places with lots of people chaotic and stressful, but the garden remained tranquil and relaxing, where I could enjoy being around people without the stress. To me relaxation should always be central to a good garden.

The centre of the garden has a lake with a waterfall falling into it from above. Within the lake are some … Surrounding the lake are many plants including several different bamboos, willows, lotus in the lake (but unfortunately not in flower), begonias, bougainvilleas and black pine. I will do plant profiles on these plants at a later date. Australian plants include tree ferns and cycads.

Dotted around the garden are several traditional buildings that includes The Rising Jade Pavilion is on top of the hill, where people can feel rejuvinated while watching over the waterfall and surrounding gardens.

I have to say that I loved this garden when I went, far more than I though that I would do. I will definately be going again at a different time of year to see how the garden looks different. I would reccommend a visit to anyone in Sydney for a few days.

Before I go, I need to mention a few extra things. There is an entry fee to get into the garden, as follows:

• $12-adults
• $8-children
• $30-family of 2 adults and 3 children
• $8 concession for Australian students, and seniors (need proof)
• Kids under 5 are free
• Correct on 14/05/23

Also, there is access for wheelchair users and prams to pathways and pavilions in the lower garden. The upper garden has rocky pathways which may be hard to access for some people. There are onsite toilets and baby changing facilities.

All the photos are my own and further information came from

https://www.darlingharbour.com/precincts/chines-garden, accessed on 13/05/23