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The Chinese Garden of Friendship. Photo: Oi Choong
The Chinese Garden of Friendship, designed by the Guangdong Landscape Bureau in Guangzhou in China, was formally opened as part of Australia’s Bicentennial Celebrations in 1988.
Oi Choong and Julian Siu prepared the Garden’s Conservation Management Plan (CMP) which paved the way for the State Heritage listing of the garden in 2018. Their CMP acknowledged that the heritage values are different for a garden which consists of a living collection of plants, constructed topography, flowing water, rocks and even animals. The CMP recognized that the garden lives, grows, changes with seasons, and eventually dies, and this has to be allowed for and managed to maintain the values. It also recognised that the values are embodied in intangible aspects including the original design intent and character of a Southern Chinese ling nam stroll garden, as well as design philosophies (including Feng Shui, Qi energy movement, Confucius and Daoist principles). These are evident and are experienced by visitors to the garden and have underpinned recent projects at the Gardens including the newly opened Meandering Pathway of Tranquillity.
Photo: Oi Choong
OI CHOONG is a distinguished Sydney based landscape architect with extensive local and international experience in public domain and heritage landscapes. She was formerly Head of the Landscape Design Section at the NSW Government Architects Office and founding partner of Context Landscape Design, an award-winning multi- disciplinary landscape practice. She has been involved with many major public domain and heritage landscape projects in Sydney, Southeast Asia and the Middle East including the restoration of the Old Parliament House Gardens, Canberra and the recent enhancement of Empress Place and Esplanade Park in Singapore. She is a current member of the New South Wales State Design Review Panel and serves on the advisory committee for the Chinese Garden of Friendship.
JULIAN SIU is a heritage specialist with over 15 years’ experience providing strategic and pragmatic solutions for conservation and development projects involving diverse heritage places. He is passionate about enhancing the connection between people and heritage places, broadening the idea of what heritage entails and how it can be integrated, and reimagining heritage for contemporary living and future generations. Julian is a member of the Heritage Council of NSW, Metropolitan Memorial Parks Heritage Advisory Committee and the Chinese Garden of Friendship Advisory Committee.
Meet at the entrance to the garden; wear sturdy shoes.
Cost: $35 for TAASA members (garden entry included), $45 for non-members.
Payment must be made online, in advance, via this website. No refunds. Numbers are limited to 30 (two groups of 15 people each).
