Zhifeng Garden

Zhifeng Garden

Zhifeng Garden is a cultural heritage conservation unit of Guangdong Province.

Zhifeng Garden, a garden-style villa built in 1920 by Lin Zifeng, is located behind the stockade of Xinyuan Village, Xinhe Administrative Village, Jinhe Town, Jiexi County. Designed by a British architect, it combines the style of Western classical palaces with elements of traditional Chinese residential architecture. It consists of walls, a gatehouse, the main building, auxiliary buildings, rear rooms, a garden, a fountain, and a watchtower. The name “Zhifeng Garden” is a combination of the names of Lin Zifeng and his wife, Chen Zhiting. Despite nearly a century of vicissitudes, the garden has retained its original appearance. In August 2009, it was designated as a “Municipal Cultural Heritage Conservation Unit”; in November 2012, it was recognized as a “Provincial Cultural Heritage Conservation Unit” by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province.

The main gate of Zhifeng Garden is a three-peaked, double-eaved, hip-and-gable roofed gateway structure with a wooden frame. Its roof is covered with glazed tiles, featuring green tiles and upturned eaves. The lintel is embossed with three traditional Chinese characters “植丰园” (Zhifeng Garden) in regular script. According to the Jiayi Jinkeng Lin Family Genealogy, these characters were written by Cen Guangyue, the last prime minister of the Qing Dynasty, in bold and vigorous regular script. The gate has three doors with iron grilles.

The main building, with a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, stands 12 meters high, 30 meters wide, and 27 meters long. Eight cement beams span the east and west walls, supporting layered roof trusses that hold purlins and rafters. The roof is covered with ceramic tiles in a gable-and-valley design. Each of the left and right walls has two side doors and eight glass windows, while the front and back walls each have two windows. The central hall is a spacious and bright worship room, about 10 meters high. In front of the building are seven-tiered circular stone steps leading up to a semicircular gate pavilion. The pavilion is supported by four Roman-style columns, and between the front two columns is a circular plaque with the three cursive characters “希伯仑” (Hebron) in grey relief, handwritten by Sun Ke, the eldest son of Sun Yat-sen, in a dynamic running script. (Hebron is one of the four holy cities of the West and a city in Palestine.) Above the pavilion is a square roof covered with glazed tiles, also featuring green tiles and upturned eaves. The combination of square and round forms gives it high aesthetic value.

The two corridors are called the “Descendants’ Alley.” This alley consists of two rows of houses parallel to and slightly lower than the main building, with eight rooms in each row, plus ten rooms including the front and back facade rooms. There is a passage connecting the main and auxiliary buildings, forming several rectangular courtyards between the passages.

Between the main gate and the semicircular gate pavilion is a Roman-style fountain. At its center is a column in grey relief, about 3 meters high, with over ten square water spouts shaped like budding flowers. The garden is lush with flowers and trees, providing ample shade. Flower beds surround the main building, with winding paths leading to secluded spots. Several tall and verdant cypress trees planted when the garden was built stand on either side of the main building.

At the intersection of the side walls behind the main building and the northern wall, there is a three-story watchtower on each side. Each tower is over 10 meters high, with each floor featuring loopholes and gun ports in the walls. From the rooftop of the watchtowers, the surrounding scenery can be fully observed. In the past, the guards in the two towers coordinated with each other to safeguard the security of the garden.

In 2012, it was announced by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province as part of the seventh batch of cultural heritage conservation units in Guangdong Province.

Jinxincun (Jin New Village): Located in the southern part of Jinhe Town, in the middle reaches of the Rong River, Jin New Village consists of 10 natural villages. The village has a total population of 4,726 and currently cultivates 1,740 mu of arable land. Jin New Village has one Party general branch and five branch committees, with a total of 85 Party members. The economy is primarily based on agriculture, with staple crops such as rice and vegetables, and cash crops including peanuts, tomatoes, and yams. … More details about Jin New Village ++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Heritage Conservation Units in Guangdong Province