J'adore la Chine, J'adore Tongji Université... On the afternoon of April 17th, local time, as the book lamps inspired by On Gardens, a work by Chen Congzhou, a renowned ancient architectural garden artist and founding professor of Tongji University's College of Architecture and Urban Planning, were illuminated, the opening ceremony of Tongji University's Wandering in the Gardens of Jiangnan exhibition was held at the Carré à la Farine exhibition hall in Versailles, France. This unique garden exhibition attracted many foreign friends, including Chinese culture enthusiasts, who marveled at the exquisite design, garnering widespread attention locally.

In 2024, the year of the Paris Olympic Games, it marks not only the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France but also the 30th anniversary of Tongji University's cooperation with France. The Wandering in the Gardens of Jiangnan (Merveilleux jardins de Jiangnan) exhibition, guided by the Shanghai Municipal Government Information Office and hosted by Tongji University, is one of the series of events for the first season of Our Water, To a Boundless Future——Dialogue intercultural entre villes-monde (hereinafter referred to as Our Water), a framework project of the China-France Cultural and Tourism Year, and the only university project within it.

Starting from Shanghai, Our Water engages in deep dialogues with an international prominent city each year. The first season's dialogue cities are Shanghai and Paris. On the afternoon of April 18th, local time, the launch ceremony of the first season of Our Water in Paris and the Paris Forum were held at the Brongniart Palace by the Seine River. More than 100 Chinese and foreign guests looked forward to a borderless city for the future. Wu Jiang, former Executive Vice President of Tongji University, Professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and Member of the French Academy of Architecture, was invited to attend and deliver a keynote speech, sharing insights into the sustainable development of waterfront cities around rivers and historical heritage. Wu Guangming, Deputy Secretary of Tongji University council, also attended.

A Mutual Journey: When Chinese Charm Meets French Romance

The Jiangnan Gardens of China have traveled thousands of miles. To Versailles, the exemplar of French gardens,
Initiating an East-West dialogue on garden aesthetics and art. Entering the exhibition hall at the Place de la Carrière in Versailles, The melodious sound of a flute playing The Beauty of Jiangnan Captivates the heart. Three exquisite 3D-printed models and two ingeniously crafted handmade models catch the eye. The Tongji faculty and student team upheld the craftsmanship spirit of garden creation, planning and exhibiting in Versailles, reproducing the beauty of Chinese gardens.

The team replicated five representative gardens in Jiangnan at a 1:180 scale, including Shanghai's Yu Garden and Fangta Garden, Suzhou's Wangshi Garden, Wuxi's Jichang Garden, and Yangzhou's He Garden.
This exhibition consists of two chapters: Garden·Scenery and Garden·Realm.

Garden·Scenery takes historical evolution, gardening principles, traditional techniques, etc., as narrative threads, leading viewers through scene creation, documentary historical materials, physical models, multimedia imagery, etc., to experience Jiangnan garden aesthetics comprehensively, immersively, and multisensorially. The exhibition also specially invites four Sino-French artists, Ru Xiaofan, Zhang Xiaoli, Zhou Yang, and Yuan Long, to introduce, through diverse media artworks such as photography, oil painting, meticulous brushwork, and installations, the gradual transition into Garden·Realm.

This Chinese garden exhibition held within a French garden has attracted numerous citizens and tourists from Paris and Versailles to visit. Students and teachers from the French AS Architecture Firm, the Versailles National School of Landscape Architecture, and the Versailles National School of Architecture also came to see the exhibition.

Zhang Ming, the curator of this exhibition, a renowned architectural designer, and Professor at Tongji University's College of Architecture and Urban Planning, said that the antique elegance and profound artistic conception of Jiangnan Gardens not only embody the beauty of gardens but also convey the aspiration for a poetic dwelling. Using this as a carrier for international dissemination not only has advantages in artistic expression but is also more emotionally infectious. This exhibition is an important international event built upon the long-term cooperation and exchanges between Tongji University and France, representing a mutual journey of the deep and vibrant cultures of China and France in Versailles.

Enchanted: Presenting the Unique Beauty of the Orient to the World

Feeling the changing scenery as one moves through the Jiangnan Gardens of China and observing the opera performers' movements and breathing, the audience applauded continuously during the performance. The costumes are so beautiful, the vocal music is so unique, the postures are so graceful, Chinese Kunqu Opera is inspiring! exclaimed local French audience members as they took photos with their phones.

Although most of the local audience was experiencing Kunqu Opera for the first time, the melodious and distant tunes, elegant and graceful postures, and profound emotions allowed foreign audience members to feel the beauty of the opera's artistic conception, melody, and performance, enchanting everyone at the scene.

Dreams arise from emotions, and plays arise from dreams. Over 600 years have passed, and from the watery towns of Jiangnan in China, this art form has come to European soil. Tongji University and the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe collaborated to create a student version of Peony Pavilion, selecting the classic characters of Du Liniang and Chunxiang from Chinese opera for the performance.

Subsequently, Tongji students were invited to perform several excerpts from Peony Pavilion at locations such as the Brongniart Palace in France, receiving widespread acclaim for Chinese opera culture.

 Additionally, Wandering in the Gardens of Jiangnan was successfully exhibited in Florence, Italy, from April 13th to 15th. Guan Zhongqi, the Acting Consul General in Florence, attended. As part of the series of events celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Confucius Institute at the University of Florence, the Tongji faculty and student team conducted visits and exchanges at the Confucius Institute at the University of Florence and carefully planned thematic lectures.