Joint photo exhibition on Chinese, British gardens held in Britain

Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-18 04:59:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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YORK, Britain, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- A special joint photo exhibition on the Chinese UNESCO-listed Humble Administrator's Garden and the British Baroque masterpiece Castle Howard was launched Sunday in Yorkshire to explore future cooperation between the two sides.

Although 12,000 miles (about 19,312 kilometers) apart, these two world-famous gardens share many things in common -- both exhibiting the craft of making landscape, architecture, flowers, trees, and water work in harmony while drawing on different traditions and techniques, Christopher Ridgway, curator of Castle Howard, told Xinhua.

The exhibition held in Castle Howard with a vast garden area of green grounds, lakes, fountains and sculptures, follows a similar photo show in Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou in southeastern province of Jiangsu in the autumn of 2018.

The two sides also signed on Sunday an agreement of international friendship and cooperation to explore ways to cooperate in the future.

Xue Zhijiang, director of Suzhou Humble Administrator's Garden Management Department, told Xinhua that he sees huge potential in cooperation between the two sides especially in cultural exchanges, tourism and historical heritage protection.

Garden-making has been practiced for centuries in both China and Britain. 2019 marks the 510th-year anniversary for Humble Administrator's Garden, and 320th year for Castle Howard.

The Humble Administrator's Garden was first built in 1509 and added to the UNESCO registered World Heritage Sites in December 1997. Castle Howard was first built by Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, in 1699, and this Baroque masterpiece has been home to the Howard family ever since.

The close cooperation between Castle Howard and the Humble Administrator's Garden and the city of Suzhou will be of practical benefit to both parties, as they share their experience and expertise, leading to a common understanding of the history, practice, and management of historic landscapes, said Chen Dalin, director of Suzhou Gardens and Landscaping Administration Bureau.

The exhibition, which also features an art project by schoolchildren in York based on the subject of Chinese and English gardens, is expected to lure more British visitors to travel to Suzhou and China to appreciate Chinese garden cultures, said Chen.