St.Paul – Changsha China Friendship Garden Groundbreaking Celebration
On July 14th, the China Friendship Garden Society had a ground breaking ceremony for the Phalen Regional Park China Garden.
The Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society, working with the Saint Paul Parks & Recreation Department and two Changsha architects, is pleased to announce the conceptual plans for a Changsha-style China Garden at Phalen Park. The sister-city project between Saint Paul and Changsha in Hunan Province is a relationship that began in 1988 and will be the first Changsha-style garden in the U.S.
Design features include an open-air pavilion and stone garden, a Hmong Cultural Plaza, a lakeside pavilion with a waterside patio and veranda, an entrance arch, and an arched bridge. The main pavilion will be in a Changsha-style architecture and modeled after the famous Aiwan pavilion in Changsha. A stone garden will lead from this pavilion to the water channel and use Minnesota stone. The Hmong Cultural Plaza is an important element in the China Garden because Minnesota Hmongs claim Changsha as their ancestral home, and a large Hmong community live in the Phalen Park area. Hmong cultural symbols and historical information will be included in the Plaza.
Read more at www.stpaul.gov