The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate gardens created by scholars, poets, former government officials, soldiers and merchants, made for reflection and escape from the outside world. They create an idealized miniature landscape, which is meant to express the harmony that should exist between man and nature.
The art of Chinese garden integrates architecture, calligraphy and painting, sculpture, literature, gardening and other arts. It is a model of Chinese aesthetics, reflecting the profound philosophical thinking and pursuit of life of the Chinese people. Among them, Chengde Mountain Resort and the Summer Palace, which belong to royal gardens, and several of the Classical Gardens of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, which belong to private gardens, are also included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO. Many essential elements are used in Chinese gardens, and Moon Gate is one of them.