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Portland Classical Chinese Garden
Rating Details »
Categories: Local Flavor, Active Life, Botanical Gardens [Edit]
Neighborhood: Old Town239 NW Everett St
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 224-3506
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
74 reviews for Portland Classical Chinese Garden
I little oasis in the city, took a lovely guided tour of the gardens. Stayed for some tea in the back restaurant.
Never felt so relaxed.
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Stunning. Amazing how many interesting views and vignettes are cleverly folded into such a small space.
I loved sitting and having a cup of tea and a moon cake at the tea house. You can't help but relax.
A cultural gem I will be sure to share when I have visitors.
Bonus, it's small enough to wander through on a common kid's span of patience.
Beautiful!!!
Tea tasting is an absolute must!!!
Summer Hours
April 1 - October 31
10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Winter Hours
November 1 - March 31
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
$8.50 Adults
$7.50 Seniors (age 62 & over)
$6.50 Students (age 6-18 and college students with I.D.)
Children five and under are free
Tip: Go in the opposite direction of the hundreds of 5 & 6 graders.
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this place is modeled after a traditional chinese scholar's house. it's amazingly beautiful, SMALL, and kind of expensive.
if you have a membership it might be a better way to go - come and relax.. otherwise it's too small to spend more than 20 mins and justify the admission.
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My family and I decided to come here on our road trip through Portland. Although I can't say that the Portland Classical Chinese Garden is a must see place for those of you who visit Portland, I can say that those who do go will most likely be satisfied.
When I first entered the Chinese Garden, I began to felt a feeling of peacefulness and tranquility. Although the Chinese Garden is not huge, I felt it was just the right size to accommodate all its features. There is a huge pond in the middle of the Garden and amazing Chinese architecture throughout. It's definitely a great place to bring a camera, but it's not a touristy place where everyone should be talking.
My family and I just milled around the place for almost an hour and a half. We didn't bother going on the guided tour and we didn't order anything from the teahouse, although I wish I have because it looks amazing and I can only imagine how the food tasted.
There are many beautiful things to see in the garden and if you're looking to relax, you've found your place. However, if you're the type of person who doesn't enjoy taking in your environment slowly, you'll probably blow through the park in 15 minutes.
For anyone visiting Portland, I would recommend you to take a look if you are interested or just wanting to relax. However, if you are looking for "Portlandy" things to do, there are probably several other things that top this list.
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This is a beautiful place, serene on a weekday and contemplative. When I visited it was well tended and tidy. It is well laid out and thoughtful in design, and accomplishes a lot in a little space. I particularly liked the enclosed courtyard gardens on the east side.
That being said, it is particularly expensive and is too busy to really just sit and think quietly. There are a lot of serene parks in Portland where one can sit quietly, alone for the most part, and not have to pay a dime.
If you want to pay to see a beautiful park, I recommend Portland Japanese Gardens. It is gorgeous, much larger, more isolated, and costs about the same.
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I arrive as quickly as I leave. The garden is majestic and beautiful in every way. However, it's so small. I can walk around the entire garden in less than 15 minutes.
The designs are beautiful and the stonework is eye-catching, but is that all? Wishing for more.
I'm giving three stars not because it's not wonderful, I'm giving it three stars because it doesn't expand all of it's possibilities. It needs as much a space as other gardens to make it a 5+ stars.
We spent about 3 hours here. We took the informative tour, wandered around a bit and then had some wine up in the restaurant. The stonework is very serene and the fragrant flowers all over the gardens were wonderful to smell. It feels great to take off your shoes and walk on the beautiful stone pathways.
Would definitely suggest taking the tour as they explain what is in the guidebook as well as some history behind the masonry, plants, art and how it links with Portland's sister city in China.
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I kept on looking for crouching tigers and hidden dragons, but I couldn't find any.. b/c I guess they were all crouching and hiding.
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I remember my brother telling me that peeking through the walls he judged that this place is too small to be worth $8 to see. OK, we got a free pass from the library and off we went.
The self-guided tour pamphlet informed that the whole idea of a Chinese garden is to mimic the cosmos in miniature. Part of the appeal for us then became the magic of space compression/manipulation exercised by the architects. Fans of Doctor Who will be reminded of the Tarkus--a little phone booth from the outside, infinite space on the inside.
The pamphlet is also very informative of geomancy and metaphor in Chinese architecture. You're gonna have to see for yourself what the role of dragonfish and bats have to do with the garden.
The tea house is also great. You get to select from very authentic teas and some pretty decent mooncakes. I would skip the dumplings and buns, they didn't look too good.
Our favorite part was about the story of two philosophers arguing over how one could know how a fish can be happy.
An excellent way to spend three hours.
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My SO and I ducked in to the Chinese Garden during our first afternoon in Portland. This place is nice, don't get me wrong. But it's the little things that just give me pause as I reflect back on that place.
Take the "Knowing the Fish" Pavilion that seemed to be lacking any fish to know. Sure it was February, but I figure that they can control the water temperature however they want in there. I mean, hey, there were fish at Tanner Springs Park.
Or maybe it was the maintenance doors on the property that were completely out of place for the Chinese Garden experience. I guess we aren't meant to seek tranquility in those parts of the garden.
Or maybe it was the rescued shore pine that is *75 years old*. I'm all for rescuing trees from evil development, but really, 75 years old? No, surely not, no! No one was alive then! (Kudos if you get the reference.)
I tend to think I'm moderately good at suspending disbelief, but every time I started enjoying the surroundings of the Chinese Garden, something distinctly American Consumerist popped up to shatter the illusion.
It's a beautiful place, like everyone else has said. But I found just as much tranquility in the Hoyt Arboretum and didn't have to pay anything to see it. I guess the convenience of this escape from the concrete jungle of downtown is worth it for locals, but I think I'll skip it on my next trip.
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This is a Portland treasure and a not-to-be-missed experience for either tourist or resident. Take some time to enjoy the place beyond recording the site with your camera, really get into the tranquility of the place - take a moment in the teahouse with a cup of tea and just let the world go a little, this is the place for it. You won't be disappointed.
And don't let a rainy day keep you from a visit. In fact, rain brings a special delight in experiencing this garden as most of the pathways are covered and the pavilions all have benches on which to sit and enjoy the run-off from the roofs. The rain seems to provide even more distance between the present and the past - I always feel transported to ancient China in the gardens with the rain.
***A Special Note***
Now don't let this next part discourage you:
The place is only about 10 or so years old and is starting to look a bit neglected. Beyond dusty sills and dirty windows, those in charge have done damage to the tranquility of the place with ginko shaped 'audio guide' numbers screwed into walls and surfaces, shoddy lean-to's for plant sales and little plaques to sponsors of certain parts (one of the worst is a plaque glued to a rock showing the rocks are sponsored by Columbia Sportswear).
If this keeps up we'll have lost an important cultural landmark in Portland and be left with a tattered reminder of what we once had. I cannot imagine these things are doing much to make up for budget shortfalls for eventually such ambient noise will overtake the beauty of the place.
Here's hoping some attention will be paid to turn back this trend.
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I didn't expect to enjoy the garden as much as I did. Someone dragged me here, and then I became a member. I love going here in the middle of my work day and chilling out a little. It's fun to take people to the Tea House. One of the nice things about having a membership is conveniently watching the seasons pass.
The food is pretty good, too.
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For me, a conflicted space.
If you come to the Chinese Garden to play tourist and snap a lot of photos, I feel you're missing the point. The garden, in my opinion, should be a refuge for those in the city who'd like to sit peacefully and reflect. Except that if you're a tourist you're probably not looking to kill hours meditating, and who can find peace anyway with all those damn tourists snapping away on their Nikons?!?!
(Even as I flip through the Visitor Guide as I write this, I come across a description of "Reflections in Clear Ripples (Map Location D)" that states, "This building WOULD HAVE BEEN a quiet place for informal gatherings..." Even those who run the Garden seem to be aware that it has lost it's TRUE value.)
To be honest, I don't really know what to make of it.
The Chinese Classical Garden is perfect for two very different activities. Since the garden is laid out with lots of intersecting private (yet open) courtyards, buildings and bridges, it is an ideal place for: (1) a romantic date, or (2) hide and seek with your children. Ooh, or maybe you could play hide and seek with your date. ;-)
But considering the mission of the garden is to cultivate an oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony, I don't think the staff would appreciate my suggestions.
I suppose you can tour the garden with your visitor's guide or audio or personally guided tour and actually learn something about China and our sister city, Suzhou. Spoil sports!
All kidding aside, this is a beautiful place. They did a magnificent job packing a lot of interesting architecture, water features, stone sculptures and plants in a small space. If you tune out the sounds of the city, it is easy to imagine you've left Portland and been transported to Asia. Although I must say that I love that this garden is in the heart of the city and you can admire the simple elegance of a classic Chinese temple with Big Pink hovering in the background.
I've spent quite a bit of time in Asia, China in particular, so it really thrilled me to walk through the gardens and appreciate all of the time, effort and care that has gone into creating and maintaining this place. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here and recommend all locals get a Cultural Pass from your public library so you can visit the garden for free. A stop at the Tao of Tea for refreshments is highly recommended.
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A weird and beautiful perfect little jewel of a place, with a teahouse that makes you want to linger and enjoy the view. Its lovely courtyards, graceful pavilions, flowering trees, and rounded keyhole doorways, all leading towards the large and serene fish ponds, are all the more remarkable when you step outside onto a busy Old Town street, with the constant sound of city buses grinding by. Most of all, I admire the will it took to turn a former giant corporate parking lot into a remarkable hidden Chinese nobleman's garden. It's the Portland spirit that turns a parking lot into a garden, when so many cities are paving their gardens for SUVs.
Plus, the teahouse serves cheap and good noodles, and hundreds of tea varieties. Wander away from the Saturday Market, or your downtown office, and check it out. Take the tour and learn why the stone pattern in the Scholar's Garden looks like cracked ice on a winter pond.
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Very pretty, but lots of tourists. Fun to walk around. Great to see if you're in town visiting.
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I've been to the Chinese Garden a couple of times now, and it's one of those places that I'd be happy to visit every time I go to Portland. It's not huge and it's not spectacular, but it is restful, calming, and lovely, and it's different every time I go.
The Chinese Garden is located in, yes, Chinatown, so it's more or less in the heart of downtown. Given that, it's pretty amazing how they managed to take a small (about one city block) space and use architecture, landscaping, and other visual diversions to create a feeling of peace and quiet in a busy urban area. Sure, you can see neighboring buildings peeking over the outer walls, but it's easy to ignore them and pretend you're an ancient Chinese princess. Well, for me it is.
I recommend the guided tour - normally I'm not a fan, but these volunteer-led tours are interesting and informative. You'll learn what the different patterns of stone tiles in each courtyard represent (and that you're supposed to take your shoes off and give yourself a foot massage with some of them!), the significance of plant and animal themes on the buildings, and lots more. The tour lasts around 30 minutes, and you can expect to spend one to two hours total here, depending on your level of interest in taking pretty pictures.
The last time I went, it was January, and while the garden is open year-round, I about froze my harbls off. We stuffed hand-warmers into our gloves, and eventually had to duck into the small tearoom for warmth before we could face the freezing, blistering winds outside. Save this tour for spring/summer or maybe fall, or suffer the consequences.
Admission is pretty reasonable at around $8, but you can usually scrounge up a coupon on their website for a buck or two off admission, and the Seattle Entertainment Book 2008, oddly enough, has a buy-one-get-one coupon for the Portland Chinese Garden.
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Portland has a ridiculous amount of parks and gardens to choose from. I really have no reason as to why I decided to visit the Chinese Garden but I am definitely glad I did.
The Portland Classic Chinese Garden is located downtown. You would have never thought such a lush, green, beautiful, perfectly kept garden would be in the middle of a city. Its only $8 to get in and there is a discount for children, students, and seniors.
My friend and I decided to walk around ourselves for a bit. There are a number of sections in the garden which have a variety of plants. There is also a room of artwork, two rooms modeled as rooms would be in the Ming dynasty, and a cafe. There is a beautiful waterfall and ponds with water lillies bouncing about. When you walk throughout the garden you certainly lose yourself in its beauty.
I would recommend taking the tour as our friend and I did after overhearing a tour would be starting. Our tour guide was great. She was extremely informative and gave us a longer tour than usual. Of course you can wander around yourself but a tour guide gives you an explanation on everything.
This is a lovely garden which I highly recommend visiting.
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My roommate and I wandered through the garden for about fifteen minutes before settling in the upstairs of the tea house. The tea was endless and delicious, and the tea cakes were superb. The atmosphere upstairs was so calm and quiet that we ended up chatting and reading for three hours. I even had to leave to feed the meter!
The service was excellent, and included complimentary suggestions of where to visit in Portland! Really, our server was so great that I would recommend him for employee of the year if I remembered his name (boh!).
+++++the cleanest, zen-est bathroom in all of Portland!
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Lovely! Magical!
I was a little skeptical when we got to the garden gates. It seemed so unlikely to have a garden in a seemingly small city block space. Plus we got a parking space right in front which made me wonder if it was popular.
But as soon as we walked in we were blown away by its beauty and attention to detail. Everywhere you look you feel peace and tranquility.
I took photos of the sidewalk stones--each one is a work of art. The garden seems ancient, like it has been there for thousands of years when in reality it's been there less than 10.
Each view is like a Chinese brush painting.
Plus I felt it was hallowed ground made more sacred since some of my favorite Bay Area Yelpers (Ed U, Linda T & Emily) have also walked these same paths.
We had tea in the 2 story tea house. You can choose from dozens of teas and a wide menu of snacks (moon cakes, almond cookies, peanuts, etc) and some very delicious dim sum " type" buns, pot stickers, and other yummy choices. The setting is so pleasant it would easy to spend hours there lounging.
This was easily one of my favorite places in Portland,
It was lovely in winter so I can only imagine how beautiful it is in the Spring and Fall.
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Excellent Suzhou-style Chinese Garden!
These gardens were much more impressive than the Japanese Garden located up on Washington Park.
The Portland Classical Chinese Garden is steps away from Chinatown and was built in something like 1 year using laborers from China.
Not quite as impressive as the Japanese Gardens but very pretty and interesting. The tea room is very cool....we tried some sake and weird food that was fun to try. Worth a trip.
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Poetry in motion...in one square city block.
Even on a rainy overcast day, this park evokes a time long gone to those who step over its threshold. For about an hour of your time, walk through its curved, hand placed stone paths which lead you from pavilion to pavilion. Discover tranquil places of respite and carefully laid out arrangements of native Asian plants & Tai Hui rocks, which surround its centerpiece, Lake Zither with goldfish & lily pads. All of the buildings' windows are framed in intricate & different lattice patterns. There's even a tea house to warm yourself in before returning to urban Portland.
The local Red line train takes you within a few block of this splendid peaceful place.
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This was one of our final visits of our weekend in your fine city. What an amazing garden. I only wish we would have had more time to enjoy it, as we were a little rushed to get checked out of our hotel, catch our plane, etc...
You guys don't realize how fortunate you have it, to have such a beautiful garden in the middle of your city. I found myself, walking through it, and then amazed that the high rises of the Pearl were a mere 6 blocks to the west! If I lived here I would definitely get a year pass, as this would be a great place to go and just sit for a while to clear my head.
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I had a blast walking around and taking pictures of this place. It's peaceful, and a big part of this peacefulness is that they make you turn off your cell phone when you enter the garden. It's 7 bucks to get in, and like others have mentioned there is a tour. We ended up skipping it and went straight to walking around. (I was itching to start taking photos). Even in the freezing cold, gloomy, cloudy weather, this place is beautiful. My favorite thing: the stone floor. The walkways of the garden are made up of tiny stones arranged together into a lovely pattern.
One interesting thing to note is that tripods are not allowed inside. We found this out ourselves when one of the workers there asked us to put it away. Apparently, the garden has their own contract with their own photographers, and if you use a tripod, they consider you to be a "professional". What? But the lady was so sweet and nice, so putting it away was not a problem. I want to come visit again in the spring to come see what it looks like when the plants are blooming.
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Why take a slow boat to China?
It is amazing what can fit on one city block, and this walled garden brought over from Portland's sister city in China, Suzhou, is as tranquil and harmonious as you could get with an Asian garden. Portland's Chinatown seems to be disappearing by the minute, but this space seems secure and well worth a visit if you're in the area.
It costs $7 to get in, and there is a tour led by an enthusiastically informed volunteer at the top of every hour it's open. Once beyond the gate, you are transported to another place, another time. I know I'm starting to sound like a pile of brochure-ladled cliches, but the architecture, decorative detail and landscaping are all pretty impressive by any stretch. A large pond called Zither Lake provides the centerpiece around which everything else is assembled.
You can sit a spell on the benches that line the interiors of the pavilions. Or there is a two-floor Tao of Tea teahouse on the opposite side of the pond if you want to have some tea and snacks to while away the time. It's comforting to know that Chinatown will have at least one piece of its legacy intact after the real estate developers raze the other buildings for more profitable properties.
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I've been coming here once a month since it first opened, me and my camera and often a friend. This is a walled island, a garden fantasy built on a city block in the Pearl District. It is sublimely serene, even with traffic and construction, and shows its beauty in rain or shine, no matter the season. I wish I worked downtown just so I had an excuse to visit this sanctuary every day during my lunch hour.
If you live in the Portland Area I strongly recommend buying a membership, because once you visit you will want to keep coming back. One of the best perks of membership are the member-only evenings that the Garden has in the summertime. There is nothing quite like enjoying this garden on a warm summer evening, nibbling on a light meal at the tea house, watching the shadows slowly moving across the clever landscaping--and no tourists.
Thank goodness for tourists, don't get me wrong, they help keep the cost of entrance and membership down. Its just that on busy days it is difficult to enjoy this garden to its fullest. Even full of people wandering the winding pathways, however, this garden is beautiful and serene, and I've yet to find a bad photographic angle.
Families. Well, I see a lot of families here and children seem to like it, but if your children tend to be unruly, please don't bring them. This garden embodies serenity, and nothing disturbs that serenity like the raised voices of parents calling after or scolding their children.
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A beautiful microcosm of tranquility in the middle of downtown Portland.
It's hard not to compare this Chinese Garden with its local asian sister on the hill, the Japanese Garden. And while the Chinese Garden is a fraction of its size (it packs all that beauty into one city block), it is just as deliberate, well-kept and gorgeous as the Japanese Garden.
I would recommend taking a tour. Being someone who tends to rush through museums and attractions, I am positive that I missed a lot here. It's apparant that most features of the garden are symbolic and deliberate and a tour would have helped illuminate the meaning behind many aspects of the garden.
There's a reason this is such a popular spot with tourists!
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very nice.
too bad there were a bunch of teenagers there picking their noses and being loud.
Especially when we were getting our tea on....
worth the visit.
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I spent my birthday here this year - during the New Year's festivals - Go Dogs!
I love the tranquility of this place, plus they have a wonderful tea house run by the Tao of Tea. The perfect place to spend your birthday with the boy (or girl) that you love. Believe me.
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It's an unbelieveable sight; the gentle slope of a tiled roof, framed by lush vegetation and blossoming trees, with a huge skyscraper looming overhead. That's the dichotomy of this garden; you forget that you are in a busy downtown area until you see peeks of the street through the walls or hear the traffic. The garden is spectacular. The staff could use some training; they are slow and seemed unable to handle more than one stimuli at a time. I was standing by the entrance waiting for my companion after viewing the garden and was asked a few times if I had paid. Sadly, the same person asked repeatedly, and as I am unable to shapeshift, I must assume he has short term memory loss. I hope he gets better, he looked about 15, so that doesn't bode well for his career choices.
The tea garden is lovely; we had a cup of tea and delicious fava beans. The service is unbelieveably slow, but who can complain (loudly) while drinking in the view? Our waiter seemed to float like a water lily between the tables, and eventually found his way to ours. He was engaged in some zen process, it just didn't relate to serving tea. The tea was terrific, with many choices and methods of presentation, and the snacks are reasonably priced.
Back to the garden: every inch is used to express beauty. I would definitely go back, because even though I walked the entire grounds, seeing the garden as the seasons change would likely dramatically change the vegetation and feel of the space, and leave me with a different impression. I felt bad as there were signs saying, "don't touch the plants," and I just couldn't help myself. I had to touch the plants, they were so gorgeous. I promise I didn't molest them or break them.
If you are in Chinatown it's worth walking around, but it's definitely a bit seedy at night. The best photo op is the sign for the restaurant "Hung Far Low." Maturity knows no limits when confronted with a delicious, saucy treat like that.
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So very beautiful.
However, I would recommend coming at off hours to take advantage of relative quiet. Too many tourists can throw your zen off.
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I just got back from free admission day at the Chinese Gardens. It was a beautiful, tranquil place. They do a great job of making you forget your in the downtown area. It is well laid out and very interesting. The reason I'm only giving it 3 stars is that they normally charge over $8 to get in. It's a great place to visit, but the ticket price is too steep. If they lower the price or have another free day, you should definitely check it out. Otherwise, I just cannot recommend it for the price.
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How the hell do you pack so much in a tiny space? The designers of this garden put IKEA to shame. Get a membership. Come back often. I was in awe. Ponds, fountains, bridges, tea room...if I lose my mind and decide to just own someplace that I wander around in constantly, it will be here...or the Japanese Garden on the other side of town. Maybe I'll just own them both. Yeah. Looking forward to losing it.
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Enter this garden and you are transcended into a different place.
I have been here several times during different times of the year and there is always something new that I discover. I was fortunate enough to meet the events coordinator since the company I work for was sponsoring an event. I learned that this garden is classified as one of only four authentic Chinese gardens in the world! Its authenticity lies in craftsmen that traveled from China to design and build the garden. Look closely and you will see hand carved doors which are all unique. These were all hand carved by Chinese artisans.
While the architecture is true to traditional Chinese form, let's not forget that it's a garden! The garden boasts horticulture from its native China but because we are in a climate that is not as harsh as some regions in China, the plants actually thrive better in Portland! Go to this garden during any season and it will be beautiful even in the dead of winter!
I was fortunate enough to go in the evening during a special event and the lighting in the garden allowed for a tranquility with echoes of socialization rippling across the lake.
Walk with a friend and have dim sum at the tea house in the afternoon, stroll alone during lunch time to get away and clear your cluttered mind. Or, just gaze out into the water while you are with your honey in the boat house...
TIP: Look for garden sales that they have and if you are so inspired begin your own little garden at home!
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A great way to end our Portland trip. Cal didn't like it as much as the Japanese Garden, but I think the location had something to do with it. I enjoyed myself here. But I think what I enjoyed most about it was watching the little kids with their lunch bags and digital cameras having a great time. They were so cute and fascinated by the architecture and surrounding plants. One kid had an SLR camera, which impressed me because I only have a point and shoot. I think my favorite section was the art gallery. I wish I could have taken some pieces home with me, but they were pretty costly and I don't have the space right now. Next time, and there will be since a certain friend of ours is moving to Oregon this week!
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Calm, serene, poetic. This city garden was like being inside the Forbidden Palace or one of the Chinese historical movies I used to watch as a child. Wooden ornamental buildings, reflecting pools, pebbled floors, footbridges, leafy trees and greenery everywhere. There was a plant sale the day I was here and I was tempted, but how to bring home on a plane and all those agricultural restrictions? The teahouse was interesting...35 varieties of tea, clientele sipping, thinking.
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It is impossible to take a bad photograph here -- it's that stunning, intricate, and spectacularly maintained.
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I went here on free admission day at it is a beautiful place. If I worked in downtown Portland I would consider getting a membership here so that I had a special place to go during the day that was secluded and quite. Like a secrete garden all to myself. It is a bit smaller than the Chinese Gardens at the Huntington in Pasadena, but it is packed with beautiful nooks. No matter where you are standing the place is picturesque. This place is a little pricey for regular admissions, but definitely worth checking out when it is free.
