Jiangwan Shenmu Garden

Jiangwan Shenmu Garden

Jiangwan Shenmu Garden is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The ancient county town of southern Sichuan — Qingcheng County — was where Su Dongpo studied and also where he fell in love and started his family. Adjacent to the Ancient Temple of the Three Sus, the Leshan Giant Buddha, and the sacred Mount Emei, this area boasts abundant natural beauty and extraordinary people, as well as picturesque scenery. Jiangwan Shenmu Garden is located here.

Jiangwan Shenmu Garden was solely invested in by Sichuan Jiangwan Shenmu Garden Investment Co., Ltd. and meticulously built over seven years. It is the masterpiece of Mr. Song Yunlu, the company’s chairman, as a way to give back to the tertiary industry and society.

The garden faces the Minjiang River to the east, offering a distant view of Zhongyan Temple — the finest spot for forest springs in western Sichuan. To the west, it connects to the Red Western Hills Scenic Area, borders Qingcheng County to the north, and neighbors the China International Bamboo Art City to the south. Covering an area of 133,000 square meters, it features a 12-kilometer section of the Minjiang River for water recreation. The building area spans approximately 38,000 square meters, with a green coverage rate as high as 62%.

The garden is divided into six functional areas: the Shenmu Museum, the Guest Reception Center, Yingjiang Tower, the Waterfront Villas, the Business Hotel, and the Water Tourism Area. It can accommodate large-scale conferences for 650 people and provide lodging, as well as serve meals for 1,200 guests.

The Shenmu Museum houses the “Wood of the East” — ebony — along with rare and unique artworks carved from tropical rainforest trees, making it “a radiant pearl of southern Sichuan.” The museum displays a dazzling array of high-end and peculiar crafts, all rare treasures that vividly showcase the magical charm of nature and the extraordinary craftsmanship of humankind.

The garden features a complex of Ming and Qing-style antique buildings — blue bricks, white walls, gray tiles. With upturned eaves, carved beams and painted rafters, winding paths leading to secluded spots, landscapes, flowers, birds, poems, and verses everywhere you look, as well as romantic and thrilling water recreation activities, the garden is rich in variety. Towering ancient trees and forests of sacred wood are dotted with unique stones. The Glass River sparkles with shimmering light, its surface glistening beautifully in the sun; Longquan Mountain rises in overlapping peaks, its misty colors even more enchanting when it rains — the cultural heritage here is profound.

Ebony products are very rare. Once unearthed, ebony should not be processed hastily, as it may deform or crack. Unlike new wood that can be dried in a kiln, which would damage its structure and texture, neither should it be exposed to direct sunlight. It should be placed upright in a cool, ventilated place to air-dry slowly. The drying process takes a long time — at least three to five years. For furniture-making, ebony should ideally be dried for over two years. All unearthed ebony has its uses and is sorted according to wood type, material, shape, and size. After drying, it is processed, tailored to the material’s characteristics. Carving is required, and the work is quite challenging due to the hardness of the wood and the presence of sand and mud inside, which demands high-quality carving tools. Some pieces are made into semi-finished products and left for a year or two to fully dry and stabilize before further processing. Very little ebony is suitable for making antique-style furniture, as such pieces require not only hardness but also good flexibility. The entire set of furniture must be made from wood with uniform color and a seamless roundness, resulting in classic antique furniture that is both elegant and captivating. At night, it often emits a unique, subtle fragrance, especially in the exhibition hall, where the faint scent lingers, refreshing the heart and soul.

The origin of ebony: Also known as submerged wood, ebony is formed when large trees are uprooted and washed into rivers due to natural disasters, becoming buried under sand and stones. Over a period of 3,000 to 30,000 years, they undergo carbonization. It is honored as a “living fossil of nature.” Ebony is referred to as the “Wood of the East” and the “Plant Mummy.” Unique to Sichuan, in ancient times, earthquakes, floods, and landslides buried all plants and living organisms in low-lying areas such as ancient riverbeds. Parts of trees buried in silt, under conditions of oxygen deprivation, high pressure, and the action of bacteria and other microorganisms, transformed into blackish-red, indestructible bodies. After a long carbonization process spanning thousands of years, they became ebony, hence also called “carbonized wood.”

The Shenmu Museum houses a large collection of wooden carvings — diverse in type, comprehensive in variety, and many are tall, extraordinary, and the only ones of their kind in the world, impossible to replicate. For example, there is a 15.8-meter-tall, 1.98-meter-diameter mulberry ebony, which in ancient times was considered a towering tree and likened by people to a “sky-reaching divine tree.” However, due to changes in the natural environment, climate, and soil, the mulberry tree has now mutated into a gnarled species that no longer grows tall. This piece is not only a living fossil of the plant world but also a remarkable wonder. Another example is a 2-ton golden nanmu piece called “Dragon Looks Back.” Golden nanmu enjoys a reputation for being immortal for a thousand years and incorruptible for ten thousand years. Its body is golden and radiant, once reserved exclusively for royalty in ancient times. Commoners were forbidden from owning or using it, lest they face fatal punishment. Then there is a 4.5-meter-long, 2.7-meter-high dragon’s blood tree carving. One side features exquisitely carved 18 Arhats, demonstrating the creativity of human ingenuity, while the other side is a naturally stunning landscape, taken directly from rock, indicating its harsh living conditions. The dragon’s blood tree is a rare species of the tropical rainforest. In ancient times, ethnic minorities engaged in hunting warfare would make a cut in the tree, collect its sap, and apply it to blades or arrows. Any cut to a human or animal would cause instant suffocation. The museum also houses artworks made from red flower pear wood, yellow camphor wood, teak, rosewood, agarwood, and yellow rosewood.

A poem reads: “The craft of Dongyang is admired throughout the world; nature’s oddities forge wonders. The wise and learned sigh upon careful appreciation — even the ingenuity of ghosts and spirits cannot match human wisdom.”

Jiangwan Shenmu Garden is fully equipped and set in beautiful surroundings, making it an ideal venue for wedding banquets, conferences, shopping, high-end business, and vacation. With our philosophy of integrity and a vision for the future, we welcome domestic and international guests with quality service.

Nancheng Town: A township under the jurisdiction of Qingcheng County. Established as Nanfu Township in 1929, renamed Nancheng Commune in 1958, and reorganized as Nancheng Township in 1984. Located in the central part of the county, it is 2 kilometers from the county seat. Covering an area of 18 square kilometers with a population of 19,000, it is traversed by the Qing (Shen)–Le (Le) Highway. It administers 14 village committees: Hongqiao, Minjiang, Langou, Xianghua, Baihua, Hongtao, Shifo, Huaqiao, Shahe, Shunjiang, Zhongxing, Daqiao, Baita, and Dalin. Local enterprises include machinery, light industry, food, brewing, and bamboo weaving product factories. The main agricultural products are rice, wheat, and rapeseed. The area includes a base for bamboo weaving craft research and... Nancheng Town detailed information++