Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Like a mirage or oasis, Vancouver's Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden lies between the commercial towers of Vancouver's downtown, bustling Chinatown and the urban squalor of the city's Skid Row. The garden works as a metaphor for meditation amidst the hurly-burly of modern life. It works as a garden too. The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden is the first authentic full-sized classical Chinese garden built outside China. An early spring visit brought these exquisite sights to us, and now, we bring them to you.

Looking across the lake to a pavillion and beyond to a "borrowed view" of an adjacent inner city park.

Just inside the front entry, a small open-air "room" invites contemplation. Note the exquisite paving, a hallmark of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden.

Color acts as a subtle counterpoint to the natural elements of wood, water and stone.

Garden docent Emma-Elizabeth Peelstreet describes to Washington state visitors how and why the classical Chinese garden came into being.

Simple edging materials creatively used for maximum effect.

Chipped china brought to Vancouver from China by the garden builders was used to create mosaic patterns for the Garden, invoking the philosophy that every thing has a place in this world.

Serenity in the middle of the inner city. Just beyond this horizon, construction cranes loomed overhead, but they only added to the poignancy of the meditative experience at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.

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