The “Northern Echoes: Gardens in Harmony” garden culture and art exhibition opened at the Creative Centre of York St John University in the United Kingdom on October 20 local time. This marks the second presentation of Suzhou garden culture in York, following the debut exhibition “Northern Echoes: The Hidden Legacy of Chinese Gardens” in 2025.
The exhibition is hosted by the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Gardens and Landscaping and the Foreign Affairs Office of the Suzhou Municipal People’s Government, and co-organized by the Suzhou Centre of the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITRAP Suzhou) and the Suzhou Garden Archives. More than 120 guests attended the opening ceremony, including representatives from City of York Council, Castle Howard, and York St John University, as well as local residents and volunteers.
Adopting a juxtaposition approach, the exhibition compares classical gardens in Suzhou with landmark gardens in North Yorkshire such as Castle Howard, Harewood House, Studley Royal Park, Fountains Abbey and York Museum Gardens across multiple dimensions including garden history, rockwork and water layout, plant arrangement, spatial enclosure and light-and-shadow design. Through photos, texts, videos, digital displays and musical performances, visitors can appreciate the distinct gardening techniques of Chinese and British gardens, understand how the two traditions handle the relationship between nature, space, and people in different ways, and explore the deeper aesthetic and spiritual connections between them.
The exhibition is open to the public free of charge and will run until November 2.
