Gate 2 of Nanshan Botanical Garden

Quiet Nanshan Botanical Garden

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Nanshan Botanical Garden is 60 years old this year! Nanshan Park got its name in 1959 when it was officially opened to tourists on October 1 of that year. 

Why are there many western architecture in Nanshan Botanical Garden? What is the relationship between Nanshan Botanical Garden and Nanshan Park? Why do the nearby villagers still call Nanshan Botanical Garden “Wangshan”? Recently, the reporter of Chongqing Evening News, led by the staff of Nanshan Botanical Garden, went to investigate in the garden.

Wangshan gets its name for that it was a private garden before

Under the guidance of Tan Mengyue, a staff member of Nanshan Botanical Garden, the reporter entered the garden from Gate 2. Compared with the modern and fashion of Gate 1, Gate 2 was more simple. There were mainly camellia garden and orchid garden in Gate 2. The environment here was more secluded and dated.

Tan MengYue told reporter that nearby residents liked to call the park where Gate 1 and Gate 2 were located “Upper Park” and “Lower Park,” but they were more used to calling the park where Gate 2 was located "Wangshan".

Why was it called "Wangshan"? It was related to the earliest owner of Nanshan Botanical Garden. The ancient Nanshan Botanical Garden Area was barren and sparsely populated. In 1930s, Wang Daixi, a doctor from France, bought a nearby mountain forest and built a garden house here. Thus, it got the name "Wangshan", also called “Wang’s Garden”.

In today's Nanshan Mountain, Huangshan, Jiangshan, Daishan and Yuanshan are also said to be named for their purchasers. For example, Huangshan, a bus stop away from Nanshan Botanical Garden, was built as a garden by a yarn merchant, Huang Dexuan, who spent a huge sum of money to buy, and then built villas and gardens.

Envoys from different countries gathered near Huangshan

At present, there are four "foreign styled houses" in Gate 2 Park, including Gothic buildings and Southeast Asian architectural styles. Among green trees, the four buildings, which have experienced the wind and rain for nearly a hundred years, are still well preserved. They are still noble and elegant.

The four "foreign styled houses" are hundreds of meters apart from each other, and they all have a long history. Most of them are "National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unites", which are respectively the former Soviet Embassy, the former French Embassy, the former Indian Commissioner's Office and the former Spanish Legation. It is worth mentioning that the first three sites were listed as "National Key Cultural Relic Protection Units" in 2013 as the former sites of the diplomatic agencies of the allied countries in Chongqing. The former Spanish Legation, full of vines, is also one of Chongqing's finest historical buildings.

Why were there so many embassies in Nanshan Botanical Garden? After the outbreak of the Anti Japanese War, the national government moved to Chongqing, and a large number of famous mansions and foreign embassies moved to Nanshan Mountain. Huangshan, not far from Nanshan Botanical Garden, was home to many senior officials of the National Government. Due to its close proximity to Huangshan and pleasant environment, Wang's Garden became the preferred office for envoys from all over the world.

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