Ming Garden, 1983 | From the Vaults

This short film from 1983 documents the installation of a Ming-style garden courtyard at The Met, the first permanent cultural exchange between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Twenty-one craftspeople, five engineers, plus a chef, were brought over from Suzhou to construct the courtyard. Suzhou gardens have been renowned in China for hundreds of years, with their unusual rock formations made of naturally eroded limestone, elegant wood architectural elements, and fired terracotta brickwork.