The International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) recently announced the winners of the 2023 IFLA Asia-Pac LA Awards. The Zhongshan Zhihe Garden Landscape Design Program won the Cultural and Urban Landscape Award.
The program was jointly designed by Caifeng Landscape and the South China University of Technology. Located in front of Zheng Guanying's former residence, a protective historical building in Yongmo Village, Sanxiang Town, Zhihe Garden was built to commemorate famous Chinese industrialist and reformist Zheng Guanying.
Born in Yongmo Village, Zheng Guanying, who called himself "The Luofu Zhihe Recluse", was one of the earliest pioneers in the Qing Dynasty. His thoughts and his work Words of Warning to a Prosperous Age influenced numerous people with lofty ideals. Zheng Guanying was also described as "the first person in the late Qing Dynasty to see the world in an all-round way".
In Zhihe Garden, water courtyard, courtyard garden, bamboo cluster and koi pond are well-arranged. The Weiguang Square, the Jihou Garden, the Memorial Park, the Hall of Fame and the Memorial Square come into view one by one.
The program was carried out to restore the traditional ancestral hall, aiming to reproduce the historical changes of the area from the Jihou Hall to the Yongmo Kindergarten and to integrate school memories into the garden to preserve the collective memories of villagers.