Tangan Garden

　　Tangan Garden is located in Tangmo Village, 10 kilometers west of She County. Built in the early Qing Dynasty and renovated during the Qianlong era, it was originally the site of the Xu family’s literary society. It gets its name from the rows of sandalwood and Bauhinia trees planted along the creek embankment outside its gate. Also, because the garden contains an artificial lake that replicates the scenery of Hangzhou, it is commonly referred to locally as the “Little West Lake.” The lake was dug in the early Qing Dynasty by a wealthy Xu-family merchant from Tangmo Village, and features attractions such as Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, Jade Belt Bridge, Lingguan Bridge, Mid-Lake Pavilion, and White Causeway, all created for his mother’s enjoyment. The entire Tangmo Village is praised as “a village living within a painting.”

　　Entering Tangmo Village from the east, you’ll find an octagonal stone pavilion and the Twin Hanlin Archway, both built during the Qing Dynasty. The pavilion has two levels, with open balconies on all sides, its flying eaves adorned with iron wind chimes that tinkle in the breeze; it also features two plaques — “Cloud Road” on the west and “Sand Dike” on the east. To the left of the pavilion is a stream lined with centuries-old camphor trees; to the right is a small Five Grains Shrine, beneath which stands an exquisitely crafted bluestone archway. Just a few dozen steps west of the pavilion lies the famous Twin Hanlin Stone Archway. Its magnificent architectural design and exquisite Huizhou-style stone carvings are rare among nearby archways. The archway was built to honor Xu Chengxuan and Xu Chengjia, brothers who both achieved the rank of Jinshi in the Qing Dynasty’s Kangxi era. Made of stone and featuring four soaring pillars, it is intricately carved.

　　Within the garden lies the Mirror Pavilion, the focal point of the entire garden. Surrounded by water on all sides, the pavilion features a platform at its front. Its inner walls are inlaid with fine marble slabs engraved with calligraphy by Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, Cai Xiang, and Zhao Mengfu. Nearby flows the Tan Gan Stream, crossed by the Gaoyang Ancient Bridge. A short stroll to the left around the garden brings you to scenes of small bridges, flowing streams, and rustic houses — ideal for fishing by the window or listening to birdsong through the open panes, evoking the serene charm of a Jiangnan mountain village. Around the bridge are several Ming and Qing-era residences, forming a distinctive ancient architectural complex.

　　The main gate of Tangan Garden bears an inscribed plaque, flanked by two couplets. One reads: “The stream flows on without marking time; the embankment trees know spring and autumn,” and the other: “This hallowed ground is like Wangguan Valley, home to the poets of Dingmao Bridge.” Inside the gate are two halls, their walls inlaid with the “Record of the Reconstruction of Tangan Garden.” The pathway before the stele is paved with white pebbles, and at its end is a small shrine enshrining tablets commemorating the eminent Tang Dynasty officials Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan. Ascending the steps, you’ll find the Quegao Study — the garden’s principal structure, spacious and grand, with an imposing upper corridor and elegant ambiance; the lower corridor features guest rooms with bright windows, each adorned with hanging couplets. The study is surrounded by various flowers and plants, along with Huizhou-style potted plants, creating a refined and tranquil atmosphere.

　　Deep within the garden’s outer corridor, under the wall, stand five osmanthus trees whose canopy offers cool shade. Midway along the corridor, a waterside pavilion nestles beside a lotus pond. Its round-arched door is inscribed with “A Heaven-Fragrant Flower Cave,” and its couplets read: “It’s good to buy wine at Shakou Shop; let’s admire flowers together at the Waterside Pavilion.” On a fine summer day, invite a couple of good friends, lean on the railing to admire the glistening lotus blossoms, sip wine, and sing softly — you may well lose all track of time. This is the “Outer Lake” of Tangan Garden.

　　Heading north from “A Heaven-Fragrant Flower Cave,” you’ll encounter a lakeside embankment with arched bridges spanning the water, evoking the charm of the Su Causeway but on a more intimate scale. In the center of the lake sits the “Mirror Pavilion,” which, though small, boasts an elegant and exquisite structure. The outer pavilion is cloud-shaped, surrounded by stone railings and waterside shelters. Its long pillars feature couplets vividly depicting the seasonal scenery of this beautiful mountain village and the Little West Lake: “We rejoice in peach dew in spring fields, lotus clouds in summer clarity, osmanthus fragrance in autumn richness, and plum snow in winter splendor. So remote is this place that we forget the seasons, relying instead on the blossoms to tell the time.” At the entrance to the inner pavilion hangs a horizontal plaque inscribed with the words “Mirror Pavilion.” The pavilion walls are made of marble. Most precious of all are the 18 stone tablets inlaid into the walls, featuring calligraphy by masters from the Song and Ming dynasties, including Su, Huang, Mi, Cai, Wen, Zhu, and Dong, encompassing all major script styles — regular, cursive, clerical, and seal — with exquisitely fine carving techniques that are truly breathtaking.

　　To the west lies a stone bridge called the Luguan Bridge. Beneath the bridge lies a deep, emerald pool, while to its south, centuries-old trees stretch in a continuous green canopy for about a li, covering half the lake surface and Tangmo Village — making the claim that “the whole village lives within a painting” truly well-deserved.