Shihu Garden( ), aka the Ding Family Garden, is located in the city of Weifang, Shandong Province. The city of Weifang is situated at what might be called the base of the Shandong peninsula, or the border, if one were to exist, between Shandong Peninsula and the mainland itself. The name Shihu owes its origin to Chinese literature, a not uncommon occurrence in a country with a proud, scholarly Confucian tradition. "Hu" means "tablet", or "slate" (made of any material from jade to ivory to bamboo strips), of the kind customarily carried by a minister when addressing the emperor. "Shi", in this case, means "ten" (there are several Chinese characters, each pronounced with a different tone and bearing its own, distinct meaning, that are all rendered "shi" in pinyin).
Shihu Garden is the main part of Shihu Ancient Building Complex, located at 49 Hujia Paifang Street, Weicheng District of Weifang city, was the private garden of Ding Shanbao, a rich landlord of Weifang during Qing Dynasty (1616 AD to 1911 AD). It was built in 1885 and has a history of over one hundred years. It has under national key protection since 1988.
Shihu Garden consists of 67 buildings - many of them in miniature format, an old Chinese tradition that continues to this day (there are many theme parks in modern-day China with miniature Eiffel Towers, Big Bens, etc.) - divided among reception rooms, studies, libraries, guest quarters, pavilions and kiosks, all accentuated by a pool (a fish pond) and a rockery (an artificial mountain), and with everything connected by a zig-zagging walkway that traverses the garden complex at different levels, offering only fleeting glimpses of various parts of the garden from any given vantage point, the idea being to create the impression of great size and complexity by means of partial concealment/ partial revelation, in the best tradition of the classical gardens of Suzhou.
Kang Youwei, Chinese scholar, noted calligrapher and prominent political thinker and reformer of the late Qing Dynasty, and Chen Congzhou, famous expert in ancient Chinese gardens both gave high compliment to Shihu Garden.
Today, Shihu Garden enjoys state protection as a national cultural heritage site. Shihu Garden is considered 'the best South China garden in North China'.
Ticket Price:
10 Yuan per person.
Opening Time:
From 8:30AM to 5:30PM during the peak season: June 1st to September 30th.
From 8:30AM to 5:00PM during the off/season: October 1st to May 31st.
How to get there:
All of the following municipal buse lines will take you to Shihu Garden: bus Nos.1, 23, 32 and 56.