Chengze Garden, located outside the west gate of Peking University, is now under construction and will become a campus of the National School of Development (NSD) at Peking University. As a supplement to the existing Langrun Garden, the renovated Chengze Garden and the upgraded teaching and research facilities will greatly enhance the infrastructural strength of NSD, and jointly serve the teaching and research of NSD and BiMBA.

Adjacent to Wanquan River, Chengze Garden was built in 1725, the 3rd year of Yongzheng Reign of Qing Dynasty, and was originally annexed to Yuan Ming Yuan Imperial Garden (also called Winter Garden). At first, it was given to Prince Yunli as his residential garden. Then in 1845, the 25th year of Daoguang Reign of Qing Dynasty, it became the residence of Princess Shou-yen Gulun the 8th daughter of Emperor Daoguang. In the 20th year of Guangxu reign, Chengze Garden was owned by Prince Yikuang.
In the Republic of China period, it was divided into two sections. The east section was named  Chengze Garden and was later purchased by the famous collector Zhang Boju, one of the four legendary people at the end of Qing Dynasty. In 1948, Zhang Boju began to teach the history of arts as a professor in Yanjing University (later known as Peking University wasn’t it known as PKU by 1948?), who then transferred the Garden to the University in 1953. The latter-day Chengze Garden consisted of the south and north sections, separated by Xihu Lake running east to west. Its gate opened to the south. In the south section were the palace gate and ancillary houses, and in the north section was the main complex, which was in turn divided into two sections, the east section and the west section, including principal rooms, halls, small pavilions, and corridors. The buildings in the south section are no longer there. All ancient buildings in the Garden stand around the lake. The green trees and tranquil environment make the Garden quite fascinating. In the near future, Chengze Garden, together with Langrun Garden, will provide an even more outstanding environment for teaching and studying at BiMBA.

On the right is the earliest photo of Chengze Garden ever found, taken in about 1930 by Haide Morrison. The photo shows a stone bridge and a three-room palace-styled building with a gable and hip roof in the Garden, which seems to serve as a windowed veranda to separate the inner and outer yards.

An Ancient Garden Relic: Chengze Garden

Chengze Garden lies to the south of Guajiatun Village, south of the former site of Changchun Garden and east of Weixiu Garden across Wanquan River. Seen from the map, Chengze Garden is located in the westernmost part of the campus and is furthest from the teaching section. The Garden is...Read More>>