Last updated 2026-11-14 — Yi Garden was originally located at the bend north of Baiyun Stream, facing Yingchun Bridge to the north and overlooking Baiyun Ferry to the west. It is now situated at No. 10–14 Houbeian. Originally the garden of Zhao Xiongzhao, the top imperial scholar in the 48th year of the Kangxi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1709), his successful imperial examination took place at what is now No. 37 County School Street. At that time, the Zhao residence had 28 courtyards, occupying half of County School Street, featuring structures such as the Kuixing Pavilion, Yanguishan House, Scripture Depository, and front and rear gardens, all grand and exquisitely built. Zhao Xiongzhao’s descendant, Zhao Huaiyu—one of the “Seven Scholars of Piling”—built attractions here such as Fangyutang, Yunwo, waterside pavilions, and terraces. After the Taiping Army occupied Changzhou, they established the Saint Treasury (national treasury) here, and the British King Chen Yucheng once stationed here. In the third year of the Tongzhi reign (1864), Qing troops captured Changzhou, looted the Saint Treasury, and burned down the buildings, leaving only the main gate, main hall, and the Kuixing Pavilion in the garden. In the twelfth year of the Guangxu reign (1886), Shi Ganfu, who had retired to his hometown after serving as a county magistrate in Hubei, purchased this war-torn ruin and renovated it. He redesigned the landscape, adopting the four characters “Yi Yi Wei Zhi” (Create According to One’s Will) written by Cai Xiang, a calligrapher from the Northern Song Dynasty, as the garden’s name plaque, thus naming it “Yi Garden.” The garden is enclosed by walls and divided into inner and outer sections by a dragon-patterned floral wall. The inner garden features a flower hall and twin pavilions, with rockeries symbolizing the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The outer garden includes the Kuixing Pavilion, Yanguishan House, as well as a small pond with an arched bridge, pavilions, and corridors. The garden is shaded by flowers and trees, with lush bamboo, bordered by Baiyun Stream, long embankments covered in fragrant grass, and weeping willows on both banks. With clear waters and open skies, painted pleasure boats coming and going, it presents a scene of natural beauty and was once a famous scenic spot known as the Wangyun Waterside Pavilion. The corridor walls are inlaid with over ten stone engravings of calligraphy by famous artists from various dynasties, including Mi Fu and Cai Xiang of the Song Dynasty. Yi Garden is quaint and elegant, small yet exquisite, with tasteful layout. In December 1987, it was designated as a municipal cultural relic protection unit. The houses in the inner and outer gardens and the Kuixing Pavilion are largely intact, and the calligraphy stone engravings can still be found, though the rockery has been moved to People’s Park, the small pond has been filled in, and the pavilions and terraces are gone, with the site now occupied by residences.