1.5 MILLION VISITORS. The Portland Classical Chinese Garden celebrated the 10th anniversary of its groundbreaking this month with a performance by the Northwest Chinese Academy (left photo) and remarks by former Portland mayor Vera Katz (right photo) and others. (AR Photos/Julie Stegeman)

From The Asian Reporter, V19, #25 (June 30, 2009), page 9.

By Julie Stegeman

The Portland Classical Chinese Garden celebrated the 10th anniversary of its groundbreaking on Sunday, June 7 with an event that brought together founding members, politicians, garden friends, and donors to mark the occasion.

The event began with a performance by girls and boys of the Northwest Chinese Academy. In sweet, piping voices they charmed the crowd with a rendition of "If You’re Happy and You Know It" sung in Chinese as well as two other songs with accompanying dances.

The opening speaker, Tracy Barry of NewsChannel 8, has a special connection to China, and thus the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, because her two daughters were adopted from the country. "When I sit here I can feel that invisible red thread connecting us to the remarkable artists who built this garden and to the remarkable country who made us a family," she says. She calls the garden a "bridge for our children between their home and homeland."

It is amazing that this lush oasis in the heart of the city came to be at all. The garden’s current executive director, Cynthia Haruyama, detailed the drawn-out process that began in 1985 with a visit by Portland commissioner Mike Lindberg to Suzhou, China to explore its potential as a sister city to Portland. The sister-city agreement was signed in 1988 under Portland mayor Bud Clark.

There was talk of building a Suzhou-style garden, and the Classical Chinese Garden Society was formed in 1989 to bring about that end. Next followed a quest for the perfect site within Chinatown — which turned out to be a parking lot donated by NW Natural — and seven years of design and fundraising, finally culminating in the groundbreaking in 1999.

Current Portland mayor Sam Adams spoke of the uphill struggle to get the project off the ground and of the tenacity of former mayor Vera Katz, who was instrumental in getting the garden built, calling her the "walking definition of artful and charming perseverance." Getting the site for the project was merely a first step in the process. Coming up with a design that was ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible without offending the Chinese designers — who thought that their concept was being "Americanized" — was an obstacle as well. In addition, Katz dealt with "withering criticism" from certain sectors of the public.

Adams concluded by talking about the 1.5 million people who have visited the garden since its opening and how it has helped revitalize the area in which it is located.

Katz herself took the stage and reminisced about some of the challenges she faced with the project. She remembered a meeting with the designer — who spoke no English — and her — who spoke no Chinese — without a translator. They worked on the concept with the designer drawing the plan and Katz nodding her head "yes" or "no." She also spoke of the logistical difficulties of housing the 65 gardeners from Suzhou who wished to live together, the great support received from Suzhou, and the remarkable help received from the public in finding plants for the site. "People were digging up trees from their backyard" and giving them to the garden, she said. She closed her remarks by enjoining the audience to "take care of this beauty."

The botanical jewel was designed with all seasons in mind, from the spring when the peonies are blooming, to the beauty of winter when the plums blossom — which is particularly lovely in the snow. Gardener Ryan Kivlen recommends visiting when it is raining, to enjoy the "pearl curtain" that forms as water sheets off the roofs of the buildings, a bonus for rainy Portland.

The Portland Classical Chinese Garden is located at N.W. Third Avenue and N.W. Everett Street in Portland. Summer hours are 9:00am to 6:00pm daily. To learn more, call (503) 228-8131 or visit <www.portlandchinesegarden.org>.