Lin Family Garden in Banqiao

The Lin Family Garden in Banqiao was originally called the Lin Benyuan Gardens, as it was the private gardens of the Lin family. In 1888, the grandson Lin Weiyuan and Lin Weirang, who were fond of making friends, spent lavishly to have a famed designer from China create a replica of the Lingering Gardens in Suzhou as a meeting place for officials and dignitaries. The gardens were completed in 1893.
The Lin Family Garden is vast in scope and exquisite in design. With seemingly endless variety and change, it has been deemed the most similar to Jiangnan gardens out of Taiwan’s ancient-styled gardens. During Japanese rule, many garden parties were held here. The garden suffered much damage during the war, however, and was not opened to the public until restoration work was completed in 1986.
The picture shows a family standing in front of the Coming Youth Pavilion and Horizontal Rainbow Crouching Crescent Bridge. It was taken during the Japanese colonial period.