Portland, OR. Lan Su Chinese Garden is open for visitors. Masks are required for all visitors to the garden aged 5 and older, regardless of vaccination status. Zhong Qiu Jie (中秋節), a.k.a. the Mid-Autumn Festival, is considered one of the most important Chinese holidays. Traditionally taking place on the fifteenth day of the eight-month of the lunar calendar, the Mid-Autumn Festival is usually on or close to the time of the “Harvest Moon” when the moon appears at its fullest during the autumnal equinox. During the weekend of September 18th and 19th, the garden will be adorned with countless hanging lanterns. There will be a lantern-making activity, storytelling, chopstick challenge, and calligraphy demonstration. This daytime festival is free with garden admission or membership.
The garden is also offering a virtual tour so people can enjoy images of the garden from the comfort of their homes. The botanical garden featuring rare plants native to China, decorative stonework & a tea shop is located at 239 Northwest Everett Street. The garden takes up an entire block of the city’s historic Chinatown district.
Events and concerts are offered, year-round like the Takohachi drummers.
The garden is also encouraging contactless visits. An app has an audio tour and a series of interactive scavenger hunts, photo challenges, and multiple-choice trivia questions. with the help of the following:
Musicians like OregonKotoKai regularly perform at the garden.
The garden is getting ready for a benefit fundraiser. The virtual event will coincide with the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday when the family is reunited to share stories, eat mooncakes, and gather under the moon.
The Lan Su Chinese Garden is an authentic Ming Dynasty-style garden built by Suzhou artisans, that brings together art, architecture, design, and nature in this 2,000-year-old Chinese tradition. It’s an inspiring, serene setting for meditation, quiet thought and tea served at The Tao of Tea in the authentic teahouse at Tower of Cosmic Reflections, as well as public tours of the grounds led by expert horticulturalists.
The mission of Lan Su Chinese Garden is to cultivate an oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony to inspire, engage and educate our global community in the appreciation of a richly authentic Chinese culture.
Lan Su Chinese Garden is one of Portland’s greatest treasures and most interesting sites to see while visiting Portland. A result of a collaboration between the cities of Portland and Suzhou, our sister city in China’s Jiangsu province that’s famous for its beautiful Ming Dynasty gardens, Lan Su was built by Chinese artisans from Suzhou and is one of the most authentic Chinese gardens outside of China.
Much more than just a beautiful botanical garden, Lan Su is a creative wonder — a powerfully inspiring experience based on a 2,000-year-old Chinese tradition that melds art, architecture, design, and nature in perfect harmony.
Last spring, Executive Director Elizabeth Nye released a statement against Asian hate:
Amidst the hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, our hearts break for our brothers and sisters of the AAPI community. We want to make our voice very clear— Lan Su is standing united with the Oldtown Chinatown community to strongly condemn racial intolerance and violence. This is no place for hate.
Built on the friendship between Portland and our sister city, Suzhou, China, Lan Su has always been an inclusive haven in Oldtown that inspires cross-cultural connections. From the planting of a single osmanthus tree to the raising of countless red lanterns, the garden has become the perfect backdrop for stories to be told, history to be learned, and diversity to be celebrated.
On the path to grow and evolve as a nonprofit organization, we are always learning with our community and listening carefully to your voices. Share your opinions with the garden by e-mailing us at [email protected].
Walking through Portland’s Oldtown-Chinatown arch, you would be greeted by an inscription that reads “四海一家”, which means “One family from the Four Seas” in Chinese, a heartfelt wish to everyone, wherever they have traveled from, to find their community here in peace. A wish that we hope you can join us, to make happen.
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