New York Chinese Scholar's Garden

The New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden is a must see attraction that adds new dimension to our understanding of life in ancient China and serves as a unique setting for a host of multi-cultural events. It features unique rockery that resemble mountains that used to inspire the poetry and paintings of Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist monks and scholars. Visitors can explore eight pavilions, a bamboo forest path, waterfalls, a Koi-filled pond, Chinese calligraphy and a variety of Ghongshi scholar's rocks including a fifteen-foot tall formation that towers over the central courtyard. The Garden's design is based on the Suzhou Couple's Retreat Garden built in the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It was designed by Zou Gongwu and is the one of two authentic scholar’s gardens in the United States. A team of 40 Chinese artists and craftsmen spent a year in China creating the Garden’s components and then another six months on Staten Island as craftsmen-in-residence at Snug Harbor to complete the construction. Snug Harbor partnered with the City of New York, the Landscape Architecture Company of China, the Metropolitan Chinese American Community and hundreds of volunteers to build the Garden, which opened in 1999.