The year 2023 marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of sister-city relationship between Suzhou and Portland, USA. On Nov 2, representatives of the Master-of-Nets Garden in Suzhou and the Lansu Chinese Garden in Portland met at the Xiexiu House of the Master-of-Nets Garden and signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Deepening Sister Garden Exchange and Collaboration, which opens a new stage of strengthening friendly cooperation and exchanges between the two “Suzhou classical gardens” in China and in the United States.
As one of the representatives of Chinese classical gardens, the Master-of-Nets Garden in Suzhou, a small but beautiful garden, has been included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. In 1980, the Astor Court (or Ming Xuan in Chinese), which, modeled on the Peony Study of the Master-of-Nets Garden, was installed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which was the first Suzhou-style garden built overseas.
The Lansu Chinese Garden in Portland, named after the Chinese names of Portland and Suzhou, was completed and opened to the public in 2000. It is not only a symbol of the friendship between the two cities, but also an important window showcasing the charm of Chinese culture. And in 2001, the Master-of-Nets Garden and the Lansu Chinese Garden concluded a sister-garden relationship.
According to the memorandum of understanding signed this time, the two gardens will further strengthen communication and deepen cooperation in such fields as training and research, architectural protection, and plant cultivation. They will hold joint exhibitions, forums, lectures, etc. to promote cultural and artistic exchanges.
According to incomplete statistics, more than 50 Suzhou gardens have been built across the world in the past 40 years, which serve as ambassadors of Chinese traditional culture, enabling visitors to have a better understanding of the Oriental civilization.