Following the announcement of the International Horticultural Competition results at the AIPH-approved 2026 Taean International Horticultural-Healing Expo, further details have emerged about the Grand Prize-winning China Garden and the philosophy behind its design.
Held at Kkotji Beach Park in Anmyeon-eup, Taean-gun, Republic of Korea, from 25 April to 24 May 2026, the Expo brought together international designers, growers, researchers and industry professionals around the theme of horticultural healing.
Designed by the China Academy of Art and led by Professor Shen Shixian, the China Garden received the Grand Prize in the Gardens category, recognising a contemporary interpretation of traditional Chinese garden culture that reflects the Expo’s focus on healing, nature and international exchange.
From award-winning practice to the international stage
The garden design team were invited to participate by the Taean Expo Organising Committee following the group’s success at the 2024 Seoul International Garden Show, where the team received both Gold and Silver awards for separate garden projects. Building on that recognition, the designers developed a garden that combines centuries of Chinese landscape tradition with contemporary approaches to public engagement and wellbeing.
AIPH Secretary General Tim Briercliffe, who served on the International Jury, said: “The China Garden is a powerful example of how international horticultural exhibitions can celebrate excellence while sharing cultural knowledge and the value of plants with a global audience. As part of the International Jury, AIPH was pleased to see how Professor Shen Shixian’s team combined traditional craftsmanship, contemporary design and horticultural healing to create a garden that speaks across cultures.”
A garden inspired by poetry and healing
The China Garden, titled Qu Shui Liu Shang (Winding Stream Party), draws inspiration from an ancient Chinese tradition in which scholars gathered beside flowing water to compose poetry and share wine. Professor Shen’s team reinterpreted this cultural practice as a contemporary healing landscape that encourages visitors to reflect and reconnect with nature.
Professor Shen explained: “We hoped to create a garden that allows visitors to slow down and reconnect with nature through space, sound and social interaction. Traditional Chinese gardens were never only visual experiences – they were environments designed to support reflection, emotion and human connection.”
The design project explored three interconnected dimensions, nature, spirit and social interaction, combining traditional Shan-Shui (mountain and water) landscape principles with contemporary spatial design approaches.
The concept also creates a cultural connection with Korea. The Winding Stream Party tradition later became popular among the royal family of the Silla Kingdom, with historical traces of similar gathering spaces still visible today at Poseokjeong in Gyeongju.
An immersive journey through the landscape
Rather than presenting a single focal point, the garden unfolds as a sequence of carefully composed spaces. Visitors move through a sequence of spaces inspired by Chinese literary and garden traditions, including a thatched entrance pavilion, across the Moon-Crossing Bridge, and towards a contemporary interpretation of the historic winding-stream ritual.
This carefully choreographed journey transforms the garden into an immersive experience, encouraging visitors to engage with planting, craftsmanship and landscape from multiple perspectives.
Research into Jiangnan and Southern Song Dynasty gardens informed the minimalist aesthetic, while traditional rockery techniques were incorporated through knowledge passed down from Master Fang Hui, an inheritor of Yangzhou’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Rockery Stacking.
Tradition meets contemporary design
One of the garden’s defining features is a bamboo pavilion inspired by historical Chinese paintings and created by tying together the tops of living bamboo. More than 300 bamboo stems were used throughout the garden to create a layered woodland atmosphere and spaces for gathering and contemplation.
The project also reinterpreted traditional water symbolism through contemporary means. Rather than relying on large water features, the designers used carefully positioned stone, reflective installations and planting to evoke the presence of water, allowing real and symbolic landscape elements to coexist.
Planting design played an important role in creating the garden’s distinctive atmosphere. Black pines, iris and Acorus species were used to establish a calm blue-violet palette intended to contrast with the surrounding Expo displays and encourage a sense of tranquillity.
International collaboration in practice
The garden’s creation also reflected international collaboration. Working closely with Korean contractor MY LANDSCAPE Co., Ltd., the team adapted aspects of the design during construction when locally available stone differed significantly from the traditional Chinese rockery materials originally anticipated.
By redesigning the rockery with materials available on site, the team preserved the character and intent of the original concept while addressing practical construction realities.
Showcasing the power of plants
The resulting landscape combines academic research, traditional craftsmanship and contemporary garden design.
Within the 2026 Taean International Horticultural-Healing Expo, the China Garden demonstrates how gardens can express cultural identity, support healing and encourage international exchange. It also reflects the wider role of AIPH-approved International Horticultural Expos in showcasing the power of plants, celebrating horticultural excellence and bringing together the global horticultural community through innovation, collaboration and shared knowledge.
