Pavilion stands as testament to ties

The story has been told from generation to generation in China, and taken as the inspiration for bountiful artworks that, in turn, have had profound effects on Chinese culture and, in this case, a pavilion.

The building of the pavilion was sponsored by Hangzhou Blue-Sky Landscape Group, from Zhejiang province, where the Butterfly Lovers story was set. All materials used in its construction were shipped to the UK, and put together, piece by piece, to be the focal point of the temporary Chinese garden at the flower show in 2005, which won a silver-gilt award.

When the show was over, Liu and the company decided to leave the pavilion in the UK, as a legacy. Liu chose Garden Wisley as the pavilion's final home after the Royal Horticultural Society offered several possible locations.

"I chose the location because it is beside a lake. In Chinese philosophy, we always try to create shan shui, or mountains and waters, in the garden," Liu says. Matthew Pottage, curator of the garden, says: "It quickly became very popular with our visitors. People asked if they could propose to their partner in the pavilion. People asked if they could have a drink reception there.

"We really loved the pavilion, as we have many Chinese plants here in the garden and the pavilion is very well positioned."

Pottage says the pavilion's pillars were made of Chinese native dawn redwood, a tree of which there are two living examples close to the pavilion.

As time passed, parts of the pavilion started to deteriorate and the garden's managers eventually had to set up a perimeter around it, to ensure there were no accidents.