A special treasure within the Botanical Garden is the Chinese Garden Qian Yuan, a classical southern Chinese scholar's garden donated to the Ruhr University in 1990 by our partner university, the Tongji University of Shanghai.
When this fragile construction turned out to have suffered severe damage from our harsh climate within a few years, the Chinese Garden Society was founded in 2000 to prevent the imminent razing of the building and to collect donations for its renovation. After the Garden was reopened in October 2001 the Society remained in existence and now pursues two important goals:
- to keep an eye open for new structural damage and to organize and assist in financing necessary repairs and maintenance work in coordination and cooperation with the Botanical Garden;
- to acquaint the public with the Chinese Garden and its affairs by means of guided tours and other cultural events.
Sale of Tiles from the Chinese Garden
The warehouse in which the tiles left over from the construction of the Chinese Garden have been stored must be cleared out! For this reason a "closing-out sale" will be held behind the warehouse Im Lottental 42 (engineering laboratories) on 19 May 2012 from 10 am-3 pm. The tiles can be picked up there at no charge, but we would be pleased with a small contribution for the Society.
Beginning on May 8, samples of the tiles will be available for inspection at the Infopoint located on the far left of the main access drives to the Ruhr University (and the underground parking facilities) coming from Universitätsstraße. Please note that the tiles are not frost-resistant and are being given away because they are not suitable for repairs in the Chinese Garden.
Guided Tours in 2012
As in previous years we will again be offering public tours through the Chinese Garden, explaining the symbolic significance of the garden within the framework of Chinese philosophy. The guided tours will take place at 3 pm on May 19, June 16, July 21 and on August 18 (always the third Saturday of the month) and they will take about an hour.
Two guides will be present each time, so that about 60 people will be able to follow the tours comfortably without overcrowding. The meeting point for the tours is in front of the entrance to the Chinese Garden; it is not necessary to register in advance.
Readings
On June 3 and July 1 (the first Sunday in these months) at 11 am our member Ms Ursula Closset will be presenting a reading of Chinese classics (in German) in the Chinese Garden.
The Prinz-Regent Theatre in the Chinese Garden
On June 23, 2011, early in the evening, costumed actors from Bochum's local Prinz-Regent Theater will hold a reading of Chinese love stories and ghost tales in the Chinese Garden.
More details will be forthcoming on this spot.
Flyer
Below you can download our flyer about the Chinese Garden and the Society (the flyer is unfortunately only available in German). You can read it on the screen or you can print it out double-sided on a DIN A4 sheet and fold it into thirds parallel to the shorter side to obtain the original format.
