Plum Garden / Meiyuan Garden



Backing on to the Dragon Hill 7 kilometers west of Wuxi, the Plum Garden (Meiyuan) is most famous for
the thousands of red plum trees and flowers planted there. The garden used to be part of a small private
residence during the Qing Dynasty but has since been re-landscaped and expanded to cover more than
70 thousand square meters, housing over 5,000 plum trees and 2,000 plum bonsais. The oldest
specimens are said to have lived for over 100 years.

The elegant Chinese plum blossom is a typical plum flower that blooms only in winters and its beauty
sparks imagination and praise from people especially the poets. The garden sponsors a Plum Cultural
Museum and has kept many of calligraphy from members of the Rong Family

When first entering the Plum Garden, you will see a huge stone standing in a conspicuous place of the entrance written "The Plum Garden Carved
Stone". Is done by the former owner named Rongdesheng himself in 1917, about two meters high, 0.7 meters wide and about 1.5 ton weigh.

There are numerous scenic spots in the garden, including the Tianxin Terrace (Tianxin tai), Meiyuan Carving Stone (Meiyuan keshi), Xiaoluo Float
(Xiaoluo fu), Xiangxue Sea (Xiangxue hai), Qingfen Chamber (Qingfen xuan) and the Huoran Cave (Huoran dong).

Since the Plum Garden is located on the slope of the Mount Hu in Wuxi, the main layout is the plum flowers planted according to the mountain
terrain. While the pavilion, platform and tower are built against the mountain. The vision efficacy and the landscape character "decorated the
mountain with plums, decorated the plums against the mountain" are both in front of your eyes. While plum trees serve to beautify the hillside of
the garden, the hillside itself looks unique as it is covered all over with plum trees. Pavilions and terraces are laid out with good taste along with a
pagoda on the premises.

In early spring the plum trees come into full bloom, while in mid-autumn the entire garden is permeated
with the heady fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus trees. The blossoms are especially beautiful in the
spring, but visitors come year round to enjoy the pavilions, halls, caves and greenery. The Mei Pagoda, the
highest point in the garden, offers a spectacular springtime view over the sea of red plum blossom and the
Taihu Lake.