Dr. Norbert Egger and Chinese Garden

In Germany， on the bank of the beautiful Neckar River， stands a classical Chinese Garden—Duojingyuan (Garden of Many Sceneries).

It contains pavilions， terraces， bridges， streams and winding paths. Graceful willows， showy peonies， pure lotuses and sturdy pines create a relaxed and happy atmosphere. Stone lions at both sides of the gate， dragons on the ridges of roofs and the sculpture depicting the legend Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea help visitors to appreciate the essence of a Chinese garden. Duojingyuan has become a place of leisure for the people of Mannheim， a window on Chinese culture and a new scenic spot for tourists from various countries.

Dr. Norbert Egger， former First Vice Mayor of Mannheim， is the man behind the project.

He has long been enthusiastic about serving the community， enjoying high prestige and broad influence in the city. He started in public service in 1968 and， in 1989， he assumed the office of first vice mayor， holding the post for four consecutive terms.

Over the years， Dr. Egger has actively publicized China’s longstanding cultural traditions and tremendous achievements in reform and opening up. He has organized various forms of exhibitions and lectures on China such as an Exhibition on Chinese Landscape Paintings， Chinese Culture Week， Forbidden City—Exhibition on the Life of China’s Last Emperor， China Today， China’s Silk Road and China Week. In 2001， he received the title of Honorary Citizen of Zhenjiang.

His love for China dates back to the time when he was at middle school. In an interview， he recalled with emotion that even when he studied at middle school the tremendous achievements and splendid culture of the Chinese people over a period of more than 5，000 years deeply impressed him as a student hungry for knowledge. After entering the Department of Law of Heidelberg University， he began to collect books and magazines about China and got in touch with Chinese living in state of Baden Wurttemberg to gain comprehensive knowledge about China. His friends called him a “China fan”.

After entering politics， he visited China more than 20 times. He attaches great importance to cultural exchanges between the two countries， as he believes this to be the most effective way to clear up misunderstandings and build mutual trust between nations.

Duojingyuan， the piece of work he is most proud of， is the fruit of such cultural exchanges.

When talking about his motive for building the Chinese Garden， Dr. Egger said: “I visited China in 1987 for the first time. My wife and I went to Jiangsu Province and visited the provincial capital Nanjing， and many important cultural cities such as Yangzhou， Suzhou and Wuxi as well as the beautiful Taihu Lake. When I got to Zhenjiang， I was deeply attracted by the exquisite gardens south of the Yangtze River. I little dreamed that in such a small space one could have so many beautiful sceneries and such rich culture. Since then， we had visited China—the Garden of Eden on Earth—many times and learnt to appreciate and indeed love it. Having toured many well-known places and places of historical interest there， I wanted to pick one from such a large number of excellent works of art， one with distinctive features that would be the most beautiful and unique in the world: This is the Chinese garden of Jiangsu style.”

Dr. Egger has his unique understanding and thoughts about Chinese gardens. “When we set our eyes on a Chinese garden， the spirit， philosophy and incomparability aroused our great interest and left a deep impression. European gardens are places for people to relax and meditate while Chinese gardens contain much more—they successfully answer such questions as how heaven and earth are connected and how nature maintains harmony. Such profound philosophical questions as interrelations among man， nature and human culture can find satisfactory answers there. The design of a classical Chinese garden displays the essence of man’s intellectual pursuits and also gives people an aesthetic enjoyment. Outstanding Chinese horticulture brings nature and art in one. The ingenious Chinese people have created the soul of beautiful scenery.”

He went on: “So， I think that this great historical cultural achievement of the Chinese people should make its appearance in Germany and particularly in Mannheim so that more Europeans could see this strange but important exotic culture. I made up my mind to let the beautiful Chinese garden become like an oriental bride married to Mannheim.” Then he thought of “transporting an entire Chinese garden from China”to showcase Chinese culture for the people of Mannheim.” To realize his dream， he made unremitting efforts.

To build a garden， three conditions had to be met: a suitable piece of land in Mannheim， sufficient funding and high-level architectural designing and planning.

To find a good place for the Chinese garden， Dr. Egger looked everywhere in Mannheim and finally chose Luisen Park. The park covers an area of 42 hectares and has a history of more than 100 years， where grow luxuriant towering trees. It was the site of the Federal Horticultural Show in 1975 and is regarded as one of the most beautiful gardens in Europe. Egger said proudly: “There could be no better place for building a truly Jiangsu-style Chinese garden. It was rare to find such a perfect natural environment for such an idea.” Over 5，000 square meters in the park’s northeastern corner were allotted for the Chinese garden.

Next came the raising of funds for the construction. It needed at least four million DM to build Duojingyuan. Dr. Egger told us of the difficulties he met in raising funds. “When national and municipal tax revenue is not enough to meet the demand for renovating schools and kindergartens and constructing roads， it is impossible to use public funds for such a project. So， we had to pin hope on private contributions.” From this one can imagine how difficult it was to raise such amount of money to build a Chinese garden unfamiliar to Westerners.

To raise money for the construction， Dr. Egger， then executive vice mayor， carried a box and went from house to house to solicit contributions in temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius， He had a model of the garden built by Tongji University in China and displayed it in a civic square in Mannheim to introduce the features of the garden， the construction plan and the prospective value to citizens to win their support. He also carried the model on a tricycle to visit one enterprise after another to drum up support.

Hard work reaps good results. Dr. Egger learnt that a businessman had left bequests to the municipal government in his will. He immediately went to see the man who agreed that the money could be used for the construction of the Chinese garden. Then， “the only honorary citizen of Mannheim who was still alive at that time also gave me quite a large sum of money，” he recalled.

“When I was celebrating my 60th birthday in the same year， I asked all who would come to my birthday party not to bring gifts， but to make a contribution to the construction of the Chinese garden. In this way we raised a handsome sum for the project. The plan for building the Chinese garden soon spread among the public and aroused their great interest.”

Dr. Egger said proudly: “I was surprised to see that so many people in Mannheim approved the idea. Besides the support from many world-famous industrial enterprises (they all have offices in Jiangsu)， I also received support from a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as private contributors.”

It was out of his strong love for China and his great confidence in the charm of Chinese culture that Dr. Egger overcame numerous difficulties and raised enough money for building the Chinese garden with the help of a few friends who shared his goal.

Dr. Egger felt relieved as the question of funds had been solved. He began to look for Chinese partners and architects who would undertake the work. He said， “I knew clearly from the very beginning， that only by making careful preparations and finding the most qualified cooperative partners could this ambitious project be completed. For this reason， I am very much indebted to the Zhenjiang Municipal Government for the important help it has given us over the years for the project.”

Under his initiation， Mannheim and Zhenjiang became twinned as friendship cities in 1994. Since then， Dr. Egger visited Zhenjiang eight times and received great support for the project there. In May 1998， the two sides signed a cooperation agreement. In 1999， the Mannheim Municipal Government organized a small professional delegation with Dr. Egger as its leader to visit China. Experts in Zhenjiang gave the German guests a detailed briefing on the art of Chinese gardening and accompanied them on a six-day study tour of gardens in Nanjing， Suzhou and Wuxi. The visit enabled them to have deeper perceptual knowledge and understanding of classical Chinese architectures. Architectural designing is a decisive factor to the success of a garden. Finding a qualified architect was the key. Eventually， Professor Li Zheng， an architect in Wuxi， was chosen. The name “Duojingyuan” was given to the Chinese garden because of its varied sceneries. China Zhenjiang International Economic-Technical Cooperation Co. Ltd. undertook construction.

Dr. Egger devoted great energy to the building of the garden. Almost all the large structural components were made in China and then assembled and installed in Germany so that the style and quality of the construction could be guaranteed. In his private visit to Zhenjiang in September 2000， Dr. Egger weighed every detail of the design and examined the processed timber components. Before Christmas， 65 containers packed with 1，100 tons of rocks， timbers， ceramic floor and tiles， bricks as well as special construction tools were shipped from China. After the Spring Festival， 32 skilled workers aged between 21 and 53 left Zhenjiang for Mannheim. As their visas were valid only for six months， they had to work with the highest efficiency and complete the construction within the allotted time. The Chinese workers worked 12 hours a day and even on weekends. They said， “Mannheim is as beautiful as a piece of brocade. We are here to add a few flowers to it.”

Dr. Egger will never forget the date， September 12， 2001， when his dream at last came true with the inauguration of Duojingyuan. The Mannheim Municipal Government organized a China Week event in which 52 shops， hotels and restaurants took part. Leading officials of Zhenjiang and Mannheim， vice chairman of the National Tourism Administration of the PRC， and the Chinese ambassador to Germany attended the inauguration. CCTV broadcast the event. Mannheim Mayor Gerhard Widder said: “Duojingyuan marks the understanding between nations， which means that the construction of the Chinese garden represents an exchange between different cultures.”

This garden is， so far， the largest and the most integrated architectural complex of a classical Chinese garden in Europe. It fully reflects Chinese people’s pursuit of harmony. After visiting Duojingyuan， a Chinese diplomat to Germany said: “I suggest that Chinese nationals residing in Germany visit Duojingyuan whenever they miss home.”

In autumn 2009， Dr. Egger came to Zhenjiang to attend the China International Friendship Cities Conference on behalf of Mannheim. In his speech at the conference， he told the participants about Duojingyuan with pride: “Every year the garden receives more than 800，000 visitors which include tourists from other European countries. From April to October every year， colorful cultural activities with oriental features such as appreciation of Chinese music and lectures on Chinese history and thought are held in the garden.

Duojingyuan not only displays the art of Chinese gardening but also helps more German people understand Chinese culture. It opens the door wider to cultural exchanges between Europe and China， and has become a bridge of friendship between China and Germany. The beautiful scenery in the garden envisages bright prospects of friendly relations between the two countries.

The author is deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Zhenjiang Municipal Government.