Ding Family Garden

Ding Family Garden

Ding Family Garden is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Zhejiang Province.

Ding Family Garden is located in Hubin Subdistrict, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, dating back to the Qing Dynasty and the Republican era.

Ding Family Garden is situated on West Lake Avenue. After exiting from Exit A of Ding’an Road Station on Metro Line 1, walk about 100 meters westward to reach it. With traffic speeding by on West Lake Avenue, few people notice such a beautiful classical Chinese garden tucked away on the side of the road.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, this site was a pomegranate garden. In the Qianlong era, it came into the possession of Ding Jie, an official in charge of salt transport for Shandong Province, and was renamed Ding Family Garden. In the 1930s, it became the residence of the Chen family of Wuxing—namely, brothers Chen Qiyeh, Chen Qimei, and Chen Qicai. When Chen Qicai served as the Finance Commissioner of Zhejiang Province during the Republican era and as Vice President of the Bank of China’s Hangzhou Branch, he lived here. After retiring, Chen Qicai turned to Buddhism and vegetarianism, renaming the place Duxinxiangguan (Fragrant Abode of the Mind). However, locals have always referred to it as “Ding Family Garden.”

On January 13, 2017, it was designated as part of the seventh batch of Cultural Heritage Conservation Units of Zhejiang Province by the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Heritage Conservation Units of Zhejiang Province