Portland Classical Chinese Garden

Portland Classical Chinese Garden Information

Never twice the same, the Portland Classical Chinese Garden is an authentically built cultural heritage garden and living museum of Chinese trees and flora. Within this authentic Ming Dynasty scholar’s garden, serpentine mosaic pathways lead to harmonious landscapes of plants, water, stones, pavilions, and poetry. The mission of the Portland Classical Chinese Garden is to cultivate an oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony to inspire, engage, and educate our global community in the appreciation of a richly authentic Chinese culture. The Portland Classical Chinese Garden is the result of a continuing collaboration between the cities of Portland and Suzhou. Suzhou is Portland’s sister city in China’s Jiangsu province. The dream of building a Suzhou-style garden in Portland was a primary reason for the formation of the sister city relationship. A classical Chinese garden generally consists of five elements: plants, stone, water, architecture, and poetry. The Garden’s plant collection is extraordinary. Over 90% of the plants in the Garden are indigenous to China; however, they were found in the United States, and acquired from many sources, including nurseries, private collections and gardens—thanks largely to generous donations.