Gao's Garden

Gao's Garden

Gao's Garden is located within the former site of the Changzheng Chemical Factory in Gongshu District, Hangzhou. It is a private garden dating back to the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period, and is now a municipal-level cultural heritage site

. It stands less than 300 meters away from the provincial-level cultural heritage site — Gongchen Bridge.

It is said that Gao's Garden was originally built in the late Qing Dynasty by Gao Yicheng, a distant relative of Li Hongzhang, a prominent statesman and top official in the late Qing imperial court. As for records of Gao’s life,

it is only known that he was a businessman in Hangzhou during the late Qing and early Republican period, mainly engaged in silk reeling and silk textile operations.

After the liberation, Gao's Garden was incorporated into the Changzheng Chemical Factory, which used it as a workers' club. By the end of the twentieth

century, the Changzheng Chemical Factory had gone bankrupt, and the surrounding area underwent large-scale urban redevelopment in recent years. The garden, as a protected cultural heritage site, was taken over by the Gongshu District government.

In line with the principle of cultural heritage preservation, the district government decided to renovate Gao's Garden.

Gao's Garden faces the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to the east, looks toward Hangzhou No.1 Cotton Mill to the south, and is bordered by the former site of the Changzheng Chemical Factory to the southwest and north. The remaining area covers approximately 1,200 square meters, and it is said that the original villa was several times larger. The garden still retains two buildings — the Nanhua Building and the Airi Building — as well as a pond, curved bridges, artificial rockeries, and small flower stands.

The surviving structures include two buildings — the Nanhua Building and the Airi Building — along with a pond, curved bridges, artificial rockeries, and small flower stands.

The Nanhua Building and the Airi Building remain, along with a pond, zigzag bridges, artificial hills, and small flower beds.

The Nanhua Building is the main surviving structure of Gao's Garden. It faces south and covers an area of about 220 square meters. Its main facade has five bays, with a total width of 16.02 meters and a depth of 12.70 meters. The interior consists of three bays in width and four pillars in depth, and it is a two-story building with a hip-and-gable roof, designed as a floral hall. The architectural style is a blend of Chinese and Western elements, combining brick-concrete and wooden structures.

The pond is situated to the south and east of the Nanhua Building, winding in a meandering shape, with the pond banks edged with Taihu rocks.

The pond is located to the south and east of the Nanhua Building, featuring a winding layout, with its banks faced with Taihu lake stones.

The Airi Building, although called a building, is actually a one-story western-style house with a hipped roof. It faces east and covers an area of about 190 square meters, with four bays, a total width of 18.27 meters,

and a depth of 10.37 meters. The floor plan is rectangular, featuring a front porch, with the main facade adorned with six Western-style brick arches. The entrances on both sides of the porch are also designed as arches. The building has a mixed brick-and-wood structural system.

and features a rectangular layout with a front porch. The main façade is decorated with six Western-style brick arches, and the porch entrances on either side are also arched. The structure combines brick and wood elements.