Rongyuan Garden

Rongyuan Garden

Rongyuan Garden is located in the county town and was built in 1983. In the garden stands an ancient banyan tree, which is said to be 415 years old. It has eight massive roots, each about 1.5 meters in girth, twisting and sprawling outwards like a gathering of dragons. The tree is 18 meters tall, with a canopy stretching 49 meters wide and shading nearly two acres of land. Its grand, lush branches and leaves make for a magnificent and imposing sight, and it has been listed as a key protected ancient tree by the county. Parasitic on its branches are purplish-red orchids that fill the air with a rich, intoxicating fragrance when in bloom — a phenomenon once reported as a curiosity by Hong Kong’s Ta Kung Pao newspaper. The garden also displays a Ming Dynasty iron bell and a Qing Dynasty cannon for visitors to admire. On either side of the gate stand stone lions made during the Republican era. An inscription on the gate reads: “The banyan witnesses the affairs of past and present; the garden welcomes all who come and go.”

During holidays and leisure hours, visitors flock to Rongyuan Garden without end.