The crooked path through the garden zigzags because evil spirits can only follow a straight line. A scholar's study faces a small private courtyard adjacent to the main garden area and linked by the footpath. As the garden neared completion in 1985, the Chinese architects realized that Canadian officials would not permit trees and plants from China into the country. The tree is not native to Canada, but workers scoured the countryside and found a tiny, uncared-for specimen in an abandoned barnyard, probably descended from a Chinese seedling carried by an immigrant around 100 years ago. They are enclosed within small open-topped spaces set behind interior windows in the scholar's study.
Every window has a different design.
Each one leads the eye to something beyond. Since the garden was completed, many of these materials have been recognized by the Chinese as being rare or endangered. I don't think another garden like this could be built again outside of China. We welcome your feedback. All rights reserved.