Québec

The classical Ming dynasty inspired Dream Lake Garden is one of the finest and largest Chinese Gardens in North America. A joint effort between the cities of Shanghai and Montreal, this garden occupies 2.5 hectares. This asymmetrically shaped facility was completed in 1991 (and opened in June 1991) and contains a beautiful balance between structures, stones, plants, and water. The large Dream Lake measures 60 meters long and 40 meters wide.

Taihu and Taihu-like stones line the lake shore and comprise a large rockery on the south end of the lake. Attractive individual Taihu stones are found in prominent location in the garden. Five hundred metric tons of these stones were imported from Jiangsu province in China for this garden. The yellowish stones found here are of Canadian origin. (These Chinese and Canadian stones arranged together express the friendship between Montreal and its Chinese twin city, Shanghai).

This garden does have a small collection of 11 small- and medium-sized stones, mainly Lingbi and Taihu stones, in hand-carved bases. They are on public display only occasionally. The Montreal Botanical Garden has an extraordinary collection of penjing and rock penjing (miniature landscapes) that are on display throughout the year. Montreal has one of the finest botanical gardens in North America. It should be part of every visitor’s itinerary while in this exciting and beautiful city.