Europe's largest Chinese garden takes root in northern England

After nearly eight years in the making, a Chinese garden described by authorities as the largest of its kind in Europe has opened in Salford on Friday, bringing a distinctive Chinese presence to the horticultural landscape of northern England.

At the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Garden Bridgewater, traditional Chinese walls, timber pavilions, rockwork and water have been brought together in the Chinese Streamside Garden, which covers more than 7 acres (about 2.8 hectares).

Its centerpiece, the Yangzhou Scholars' Garden, draws on the classical gardens of Yangzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province, with four pavilions representing the traditional scholarly arts of music, Go, calligraphy and painting. Chinese craftspeople used traditional techniques including mortise-and-tenon joinery, brickwork and stone carving in its construction.

Chinese plant species including magnolia and ginkgo have also been introduced, integrating Chinese garden architecture, horticulture and culture into the British garden environment.

Chilton-Jones, head of RHS Garden Bridgewater, said the project was about reconciling two distinct horticultural traditions.

"Chinese have an ancient, venerable culture of gardening, and the British have a strong tradition of gardening as well, gardening excellence, but they're very different. The challenge has been to bring these two things together that do overlap but make them work in an artistic sense, and I think we've done that," he said.

The opening ceremony, held on Friday and coinciding with the Mid-Autumn Festival, brought together representatives and delegates from relevant Chinese and British institutions.

All parties agreed that the initiative has established a new bridge for cultural exchanges between the two countries.

RHS Garden Bridgewater opened in 2021 on the 154-acre site of the historic Worsley New Hall estate in Salford. The Chinese garden project started in 2019, a year after members of Greater Manchester's Chinese community had joined the RHS in developing plans for the garden.

Europe's largest Chinese garden takes root in northern England

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla on Saturday condemned U.S. decades-long blockade of Cuba as "collective punishment" aimed at triggering a humanitarian crisis, during his address at the 81st UN General Assembly General Debate.

"In Cuba, as is known to all, we face a multidimensional aggression from the U.S. government -- a permanent, abusive, and ruthless hostility that has lasted for nearly seven decades. Since January 2026, it has intensified and become more cruel and dangerous with the imposition of an energy blockade that, through intimidation and coercion, prohibits all countries from exporting fuel to Cuba -- which amounts to a naval blockade, defined under international law as an act of war," he said.

The foreign minister stressed that Cuba is a peaceful country and dismissed the U.S. claim that Cuba poses a threat. "Cuba is not a threat; the blockade is!" he declared.

He also said Cuba does not represent a threat to the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue with Washington on the basis of sovereign equality and respect for international law.

"We have always been, and remain, willing to engage in dialogue with the U.S. government to seek solutions to our bilateral differences on the basis of seriousness, respect, sovereign equality, and observance of international law, without interference in internal affairs, and with no preconditions," he said.

Cuba slams US blockade as 'collective punishment' at UN General Assembly