The Garden of Friendship is one of the most striking and unusual sights of the city. It is not easy to find it, the garden seems to have been hidden from passers-by behind a hedge of bushes, the pagoda is invisible because of the trees.
St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in Russia. Kazan Cathedral, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Peter and Paul Fortress are the most famous sights of St. Petersburg, but there are places that few people know about. These include the unusual "Garden of Friendship".
The garden was opened in May 2003 in honor of the city's 300th anniversary. It is a miniature copy of the Shanghai "Garden of Joy", all materials for it were brought from Shanghai.
Why did the "Garden of Friendship" appear in St. Petersburg?
Shanghai is a twin city of St. Petersburg, so China made a kind of gift to the Northern Capital.
"Friendship Garden" is very popular with tourists from China, they specially come to the garden to take a picture of it.
What a garden looks like
It consists of three parts, which are located at a short distance from each other. The most beautiful building of the garden can be called the "Friendship Pagoda", it is a small pavilion for tea ceremonies and meditations. It belongs to the most striking and unusual sights of the city.
At the entrance to the pagoda, there are unusual stone sculptures that resemble Shih Tzu (traditional mythical lions - guards), but at the same time they are different from them. Asian sculptures are not only in the garden, real Chinese lions-guards Shi-Tzu can be seen on Petrovskaya Embankment (next to the Museum-Reserve House of Peter I).
In the mouths of the lions of the Garden of Friendship, there are movable balls, some tourists roll them.
In front of the pagoda there are unusual stone barrels, in fact, these are kind of benches, and long stones serve as a table.
The most unusual structure of the garden can be called the wall of the "Nine Dragons", there are really nine of them and they are all different colors (the second part of the garden). Stone benches near the wall are decorated with small sculptures that look like lotus.
The garden has walls with an unusual roof, behind them is the courtyard of the house and there is nothing interesting.
In the third part of the garden there is an unusual gazebo, a mountain of stones, a small pond and a bridge across it. The structures are very interesting and unusual, the bridge is not decorative.
Real cherry blossoms bloom in the garden in spring, which is why it is popular with locals.
Here you can take vivid and unusual photos, capture yourself with stone lions, or simply admire the cherry blossoms in bloom.
Where is the "Garden of Friendship"
It is not easy to find it, the garden is located on Liteiny Prospekt (the city center, relatively close to the Moscow railway station) behind a hedge of bushes. You can miss it and pass by, the houses with numbers 15-17 serve as landmarks, the garden is located between them.
