A slice of Wales goes east
11 December 2011
A slice of Welsh landscape has been recreated in central China in a show garden at the 8th International China Garden Expo at Chongqing, on the Yangtze river.
The garden, measuring 25m x 25m (82ft x 82ft), was designed by Anthony Jellard for the National Botanic Garden of Wales (NGBW) and includes a pair of dragons – one Welsh, one Chinese – to symbolise the links between the two countries. A rugged combination of dry stone walls, slate, rock, standing stones and water suggests the natural landscapes of Wales.
'China has an ancient garden culture,' said team member and senior horticulturalist Rupert Jensen. 'There is a deep appreciation of rock and stone, and these elements of the design should strike a chord.'
Plants were a particular challenge as most Welsh native species would not flourish in Chongqing's humid, subtropical climate. Instead the team chose foliage plants which would convey the same 'feeling' as Welsh flora such as Acorus calamus (sweet flag) to suggest Welsh native Iris pseudacorus, and Sorbus alnifolia to evoke S. cambrensis (Welsh whitebeam). However the garden did include Welsh poppies (Meconopsis cambrica) and daffodils.
The garden was the only UK entry at the Expo, which covers two square kilometres (1.2 square miles) and is a permanent installation. Wales has fostered strong links with China since 2006, founded on a shared industrial heritage of steelmaking and coal mining.