We may hardly know whether Qianlong had enough time to fully savor the retreat from everyday cacophony, but the garden has left us a poetic legacy: a coming together of aesthetics and nature. This is undoubtedly an inspiration for visitors to a new exhibition in the Forbidden City, now known as the Palace Museum.

For the occasion, Rejoicing in Woods and Springs: A Journey through Garden Cultures in China and the Wider World, which will run through to June 29, more than 200 exhibits from home and abroad, including landscape paintings, sculptures, furniture and indoor decorations, are on show at the Meridian Gate Galleries.