Taining Ming-Qing Garden

Taining Ming-Qing Garden

Taining Ming-Qing Garden is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The Ming-Qing Garden scenic area is located within the Taining UNESCO Global Geopark in Fujian Province. It is a "civilian Forbidden City" primarily dedicated to collecting and displaying large-scale ancient architecture and exquisite woodcarving artworks from various schools of the Ming and Qing dynasties. With a total investment of 350 million yuan and a planned land area of approximately 300 acres, the Ming-Qing Garden is committed to the protection and inheritance of ancient Chinese architectural and woodcarving art and culture. It is also a uniquely charming private collection cultural exposition — a grand garden of ancient dwellings, a grand garden of antique screens, and a grand garden of woodcarving culture. The garden showcases over ten cultural landscapes, including stone memorial archways, the Sima Mansion, the Gathering of Scholars Hall, and the Cultivation and Study Hall. Its collections encompass ancient architectural relics and precious woodcarving artworks from various schools of the Ming and Qing periods, representing the highest level of craftsmanship of their time and place. These pieces authentically reflect the refined and leisurely lifestyle of literati and scholars during the Ming and Qing eras, centered around cultivation and family heritage, while also shedding light on the economic, social, cultural, ideological, technological, and artistic developments of the period.

This park is not only a creative blend of traditional Chinese classical garden architectural styles and modern leisure cultural products but also an inheritance and extension of Taining’s historical culture. It features three major highlights: First, a grand garden of Ming-Qing ancient dwellings, such as the Sima Mansion, the Dexin Study, the Gathering of Scholars Hall, and the Bigui Studio, which gather the essence of traditional residential architecture from different eras and styles; second, a grand garden of exquisite wooden artifacts, showcasing finely carved wooden collections made from various types of premium timber; third, a grand garden of woodcarving culture, featuring elaborately painted and carved ancient architectural components, ingeniously crafted ancient furniture, majestic and exquisitely made antique screens, and large decorative screens that integrate dozens of carving techniques.

Main Attractions of Ming-Qing Garden:

1. Huizhou-style Architecture “Sima Mansion”

The “Sima Mansion” is the most exquisite ancient building in the Ming-Qing Garden’s ancient architecture exhibition area. Covering an area of over 1,000 square meters, it boasts a grand scale, distinctive features, and exquisite decorations. This Qing Dynasty Huizhou-style ancient building combines elements of an opera hall, a calligraphy hall, and a literature hall.

2. Treasure Pavilion

The “Treasure Pavilion” is a large comprehensive exhibition hall in the garden, primarily showcasing a variety of ancient screens. Highlights include a 21.6-meter-long ancestral hall screen, screens inscribed with calligraphy by famous figures, a lacquered and gilded 24 Paragons of Filial Piety screen with exquisite craftsmanship, a 3D woodcarved Hundred Auspiciousness screen, culturally rich double-sided standing screens, intricately carved nanmu hanging screens made from single planks, birthday screens with northern characteristics, and more. These diverse screens exhibit the traditional handicraft heritage of the Chinese nation and reflect the ancient pursuit of life. Additionally, the exhibition hall features special items such as an exquisitely crafted wooden flower basket, a ceremonial sea god palanquin returned from overseas, a Fujian-style ancient stage, a money chest over two hundred years old, a uniquely styled and exquisitely designed canopy bed, a golden nanmu long couch with intricate grain patterns, and small-leaf red sandalwood from the Ming Dynasty. The wide array of exhibits, rich in meaning, are well worth careful appreciation.

3. Gathering of Scholars Hall

The Gathering of Scholars Hall exhibition features numerous large and precious items, mainly grand ornaments from ancient aristocratic families. These include the five-sided intricately carved screen wall of the Gathering of Scholars Hall, the 500 Arhats seat screen covered entirely in gold leaf, the Yingxin Study embodying Neo-Confucian philosophy, the meticulously carved bridal chamber with a raised sleeping platform, a massive hand-carved Thousand-Hand Guanyin with no joints, and a highly decorated grand gate tower. Each piece embodies the crystallization of ancient wisdom, reflects the imprints of history, and conveys the life sentiments of the ancients.

Attraction Location

Taining Ming-Qing Garden, Wuliting, Taining County, Sanming City, Fujian Province

Shancheng Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Taining County and the county seat. Established as Chengguan Town in 1956, it became Hongqi Commune in 1958, renamed Chengguan Commune in 1961, and was upgraded to a town in 1984. Located in the central part of the county, it covers an area of 228 square kilometers with a population of 35,000. Provincial Highway Xiagan passes through the town. It administers 22 village committees including Minzhu, Shuinan, Shengyi, Shenger, Hongguang, Hongwei, Shucai, Nanhui, Lvjiafang, Baliqiao, Dongshi, Wangshi, Changxing, Meiqiao, Qiuhong, Yangchuan, Tiaocun, Fengyan, Nanxi, Qixi, Zhanggan, Daping, and 6 residential committees: Chengdong, Shuidong, Shuixi, Dizhou, Lufeng, and Heping... More detailed information about Shancheng Town ++