Turtle Garden

The Turtle Garden, which lies in the south-east of Academic Village of Jimei, was built by Mr.Tan during his life time and later was chosen as the gravesite of Mr. Tan.

The Turtle Garden was his first project. After full deliberation and preparation, the construction of the Turtle Garden began in 1951 on the former site of “Turtle Head Palace” from which it got its present name. Mr. Tan was the general designer as well as general engineer of the project.

The Turtle Garden project was divided into three parts: the covered corridor, the monument of Jimei liberation and Tan kah kee's tomb. Ten years passed from the beginning of construction in 1951, with the essential completion in 1957 with the burying of Mr. Tan and the covering of the tomb.

In the centre of the garden is the Jimei Liberation Monument with an inscription by Mao Zedong on the front and a tablet record written by Mr.Tan Kah-Kee on the back. The stone foundation of the monument consists of two stages. The lower stage has eight steps, signifying the eight-year Anti-Japanese War; the upper stage is composed of three steps, symbolizing the three-year Liberation War. They are telling the later generations that victories were hard-won and therefore should be cherished. The foundation of the monument is surrounded by gray jade carvings and relief sculptures polished with great care, embodying a concentrated reflection of exquisite workmanship and a unique style of south Fujian stone carving art.

Turtle Park has a marvelous display of Hui'an style carvings lining both sides of the entrance hall. These friezes depict, in stunning detail, various historical scenes and personages from ancient and modern China. One carving of a political session around a round table looks so 3-dimensional and lifelike that you can almost hear them debating about.

Admission fee: RMB ￥ 10 per person

Publishes at : 07-10-04 19:30

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