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China and Japan

Monty Don visits the world's 80 most inspiring gardens, this time in China and Japan, two of the world's oldest gardening cultures.

Monty Don continues his extraordinary journey to see the world through 80 of its most inspiring gardens, as he samples the very different approach of two of the world's great gardening cultures: China and Japan.

First, he travels to China, to uncover the deeper history of the oriental garden. His researches lead him to the ancient scholars' gardens of Suzhou, as well as the awesome Yellow Mountains of Huangshang that inspired them, where he meets the revered Welcome Guest Pine.

By the time he reaches the Imperial Summer Palace Gardens of Beijing, he is beginning to get a little insight into the secrets of oriental gardening, and with his long-standing interest in Zen Buddhism, Monty relishes the chance to visit the temple gardens of Japan.

Finally, he crosses the Yellow Sea to Kyoto - Japan's city of gardens - to try to unravel its enigmatic Zen gardens with his new-found understanding.

Available now

59 minutes

Audio described

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Monty Don
Director Patty Kraus
Series Producer Kerry Richardson

Broadcasts

  • Sun 2 Mar 2008 21:00
  • Wed 5 Mar 2008 19:00
  • Mon 24 Mar 2008 00:50
  • Wed 13 Aug 2008 22:00
  • Tue 19 Aug 2008 22:00
  • Sun 7 Sep 2008 19:00
  • Sun 1 Sep 2013 08:00
  • Sun 26 Mar 2017 07:15
  • Sun 7 Oct 2018 06:35
  • Sun 1 Dec 2019 07:30
  • Sun 12 Feb 2023 08:30