Hidden gem offers Big Apple retreat

Chinese-themed garden sanctuary draws increasing number of visitors

NEW YORK - Located behind a row of cottages in Snug Harbor and regarded as a hidden gem in New York's Staten Island, the Chinese Scholar's Garden offers a pleasant surprise to visitors.

"The Garden of Poetic Pleasure," reads a plaque in Chinese calligraphy.

Indeed, poetry features heavily in the garden, which opened to the public in 1999.

Frances Paulo Huber, then Snug Harbor Botanical Garden's president, recognized the presence of Asian cultures among the harbor's sailor community and the idea evolved into the garden, said Puiyan Taglianetti, an educator at Snug Harbor.

The garden is based on the work of Zou Gongwu, one of China's leading scholars in classic garden design, and was the first of its kind in the United States.

All the architectural components were prefabricated, and all rocks were carefully chosen in Suzhou, China's Garden City.

"It isn't modeled after any one particular garden in China, it is generally a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) type of garden," said Taglianetti, while walking the visitors through the 1-acre retreat.

Like its Chinese models, the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden is a reflection of the Chinese view of the universe. The yin-yang concept of cosmic forces can be found in the varying shapes of colors, textures as well as spaces of the bricks, rocks and eavesdrops.

Flowers and trees intersect passageways, bridges and gates, emphasizing China's traditional connection between house and garden, landscape and structure. Water and rock coexist in even tiny spaces, symbolizing arteries and bones of a Chinese house.

"It makes me wanna go to China," said Shannon Moonui, a 22-year-old college student living in Staten Island.

In 2016, the Chinese Scholar's Garden received about 10,000 tourists. For this year, the garden's administration department is projecting an increase in visitors, especially of students coming to learn about Chinese culture.

Popular place

The exotic scenery of the garden also makes it a popular place for the likes of wedding pictures and film shoots.

The philosophy of retreating to nature is shared by Chinese and Westerners alike, despite their vast cultural differences.

"One of the things we always try is to get people understand to be in touch with their senses, to be in touch of nature that is around them," said Taglianetti.

"It was to escape from your daily stress, which is something I found very key particularly in this day and age, where everything is so fast-paced and moving. You have got to step back, enjoy, relax, and be at peace here," she added.