Sitting in a Chinese park or garden is the opportunity to surrender one's senses to the sight and fragrance of peach, plum and cherry blossom, the sound of softly sinuous erhu music and the delicate flavor of green tea sipped from a delicate porcelain cup, as colorful fish swim lazily in a nearby ornamental pond. Gardens in the Kingdom of Heaven are exquisitely miniature without being fussy. It is hard to believe that Chinese garden landscapes are manmade, created by specialists inspired by their eternal quest to mirror human nature by means of the shadows cast by minutely arranged stones and curved paths.

China has a long tradition of celebrating flowering plants. Flower festivals specifically offer the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of blooming peonies, peaches and meihua plums, and at the autumnal Double Ninth Festival people gather in parks and gardens to admire chrysanthemums.

In earlier times there was a more practical attitude towards plants, as they had medical applications, as evidenced by specialist books on medicinal herbs, flowers and trees, such as that by 16th century botanist Li Shizhen that describes the characteristics of 1,100 plants.

When growing plants for decorative purposes began, Chinese gardeners in this tradition developed an instinct as to where the best fruit trees or the most beautiful flowers grow. Their reasoning was based on the theory of celestial and earthly energy sources; well-known 11th century scientist Ouyang Xu believed that their proportionate combinations produce nondescript plants, whereas unequal shares engender either dazzlingly beautiful or strikingly ugly specimens, in other words, when celestial energy goes counter to natural order, a freak of nature is born, whereas if earthly energy deviates, a phenomenon of unearthly beauty is created.

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