Xu Garden
Xu Garden is a classical Chinese garden located in Xuanwu District, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is situated on the west side of the Presidential Palace in Nanjing and is one of the most prominent gardens in China. Xu Garden was once the personal garden of the residence of the “Prince of Han,” a prestige given to Zhu Gaoxuz, the second son of the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty in the 13th century.
Xu Garden was once the Heavenly King’s palace’s imperial garden and was called the “West Garden” in the mid-1850s. It was then destroyed in 1864 but rebuilt in 1870. In 1982 the government of the People’s Republic of China recognized it as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. A 14.5-meter-long timber-mimic stony boat built of gray stones symbolizes the garden.