He Garden(Sending the hills)

He garden, originally named Jixiao villa, is the crowning masterpiece among Yangzhou's private gardens. It is a national key cultural relics protection unit and a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, and was named among the first batch of national key parks alongside Beijing's Summer Palace and Suzhou's Humble Administrator's Garden. The most distinctive architectural feature of He garden is its 1,500 m double-decker corridor, renowned as the "first corridor under heaven," which creates both the convenience of interconnected pathways and the beauty of winding variations. Experts consider it the prototype of China's modern overpasses. Another highlight is the "first mountain under heaven" in Pianshi mountain house, a unique rockery masterpiece created by the great painter-monk Shitao. Famous scholar Yu Qiuyu remarked that in the history of Chinese gardening, Pianshi mountain house is something to look up to. Contemporary experts in ancient architecture and gardens like Tong Jun, Liu Dunzhen, Pan Guxi, Luo Zhewen, and Chen Congzhou have all praised He garden's unique gardening techniques, calling it "a solitary example among Jiangnan gardens." Mr. Luo Zhewen even inscribed it as "the first garden of the late Qing dynasty." Stepping into He garden is like entering a magnificent historical and cultural scroll. It reveals the complex psychological journey of a legendary figure who was simultaneously an official, salt merchant, recluse, and educator. It vividly portrays the rise and fall of an aristocratic family transitioning from feudalism to enlightenment, and it brings to life the rich supplementary stories of China's turbulent modern history.