Chinese Garden

Dream Lake Garden

The Dream Lake Garden is a classic Chinese garden designed in the tradition of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) by architect Le Weizhong, Director of the Shanghai Institute of Landscape Design and Architecture. The 6-acre garden is built in the Jianghan style, meaning water and mountains, typical of the southern Yangtze River region. All the elements of the garden were built in Shanghai workshops, then dismantled and shipped by sea to Montreal, where they were reassembled on the Botanical Garden site in 1990 by a team of expert craftsmen from Shanghai.

The Floralies internationals held in Montreal in 1980 led to the forging of close bonds between Montreal and Shanghai. This garden, dedicated to dreams and friendship, is the fruit of co-operation between the two cities, which are now officially twinned.

Like a bridge spanning the two continents, the garden will bring the people in both lands closer together and introduce visitors to a millennia-old civilization that is intimately linked to the world of plants.

Guardians of the Forest: In this forest of lanterns, four figures illustrate two of Xishuangbanna’s peoples with a profund respect for nature – the Dai and the Hani. The Dai have been exploiting the forest in an eco-friendly manner for some 2,000 years and the Hani as the nature spirits for permission before using its resources. These two ethnic groups have long understood that their own survival depends on the balance of nature.

Chinese Tea Ceremony. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

Entry to the Chinese Garden. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

A terrible Dragon protects the entry. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

A dancing Chinese girl. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

The garden main entry. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

Like a bridge spanning the two continents, the garden brings the people in both lands closer together. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

This sublime space introduces visitors to a millennia-old civilization. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

This millennia-old civilization is intimately linked to the world of plants. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

All the elements of the garden were reassembled on the Montreal Botanical Garden by a team of expert craftsmen from Shanghai, China. Photo: © ProvinceQuebec.com

Three Stars. These three stones from the Tai Lake region of Jiangsu province symbolize happiness (a house full of children), prosperity (social standing and wealth) and longevity. This is a traditional Chinese greeting extended to all visitors. Photo : © ProvinceQuebec.com

The Dream Lake Garden was conceived by Le Weizhong, a famous landscape architecte, director of the Landscape Design and Architecture Institut of Shanghai, and his fellow colleagues. Photo : © ProvinceQuebec.com