Lin Benyuan Residence (Lin Family Garden) Tickets

The Lin Benyuan Garden Residence in Banqiao is currently the most complete surviving garden architecture in Taiwan. In ancient times, wealthy families and merchants, seeking a luxurious lifestyle or to entertain officials or business tycoons with exquisite gardens, often spared no expense in constructing beautiful and elaborate gardens. However, due to natural disasters, wars, and the passage of time, many of these Chinese-style gardens are now dilapidated, some having long since disappeared, existing only in the writings of scholars or historical records. Fortunately, the Lin Benyuan Garden Residence in Banqiao, after suffering repeated damage and decay since 1949, has undergone numerous restorations and repairs by experts based on research, and has now partially regained its former glory.

The garden is divided into four main areas: the first is the Jigu Study and Fangjian Study, which serve as study areas; the second is the Laiqing Pavilion, which provides accommodation and gathering places for distinguished guests, with the Kaixuan Yixiao Pavilion and the Xiangyu Pavilion for flower viewing as its subordinates; the third is the Dingjing Hall, which serves as a banquet venue, with the Yuebo Water Pavilion as its subordinate; and the fourth is the Guanjia Tower and the Banyan Shade Pond.

Gardens emphasize meticulous detail, imbuing architecture with a rich and varied appearance. Within the gardens alone, there are over thirty different styles of floral windows, arranged harmoniously and in perfect harmony with the landscape. The dougong (bracket sets) in wooden architecture come in various forms, including the chihu (dragon-tiger) arch, the guandao (Guan Dao) arch, and the ruyi (auspicious scepter) arch; the chihu arch itself exhibits different shapes, such as the slippery and playful one, and the upright and proud one. These variations are integrated into the architecture, offering delightful surprises at every turn when one examines it closely.